The cuticle scales grown smoothly and closely packed on the surface of rabbit hair fibers which resulted in low surface friction coefficient and poor dyeability of the materials. In this study, cold gas plasma was used to modify the rabbit hair fibers. The effects of plasma treatment on the surface morphology and contact angles were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and dynamic contact angle (DCA) measurments. The AFM observations showed that the cuticle layers of rabbit hairs were gradually removed and the etching effect was obviously revealed after plasma treatment. Plasma treatment significantly reduced both the advancing contact angles and receding contact angles of the rabbit hair fibers, as evaluated by DCA tests. The investigation also showed that plasma treatment led to improvement in fiber crimp and the dyeability of the rabbit hair fibers.
Hou Dayin,Wei Qufu,Li Liangfei
Proceedings of 2006 China International Wool Textile Conference & IWTO Wool Forum