A Preliminary Study of the Effects of Exposure to a One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDPTM) on the Surface Energy and Strength of Meltblown and Nanofiber Fabrics

Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) methods have recently been developed to electrospin nano-scale non-woven webs and to improve their properties by exposure to the One Atmosphere Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDPä), as a collaborative effort by the UT Plasma Sciences Laboratory and the UT Textiles and Nonwovens Development Center (TANDEC).

Nanofiber webs are made by the electrospinning (ES) process, which uses the electrostatic force to spin fibers from a polymer solution or melt. Digitized SEM images show that the fiber diameters range from 10 nm to several microns. Such nanofiber fabrics have a significantly higher tensile strength than meltblown (MB) webs of the same material composed of fibers microns in diameter. Nanofiber fabrics also require less energy input and may require less capital investment when compared to the traditional meltblown process. These webs can be post-treated by exposure to the One Atmospheric Uniform Glow Discharge Plasma (OAUGDP^TM) to improve surface characteristics such as wettability and wickability. This paper reports for the first time that a durable high surface energy has been achieved on Nylon meltblown microfiber fabrics by exposure to OAUGDP^TM.

This paper discusses possible chemical and physical mechanisms responsible for these property changes, based on analysis of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images. Some recent efforts in both nanofiber generation and plasma reactor technology are discussed as well. With future development, these improved nanofiber fabrics should find applications to protective garments and other clothing.

* This research is supported by NSF grant DMI-0210554 of the Nanoscale Science and Engineering Initiative, NSF 01-157, Dr. Janet M. Twomey, program manager.