On-Line Surface Modification of Polypropylene Fibers by Corona Treatment During Melt-Spinning

Abstract

On-line corona treatment of polypropylene (PP) fibers during melt-spinning is studied. After extrusion of pp filaments, collected fiber tow is subjected to corona treatment prior to drawing, crimping, and cutting into staple fibers, and wettability, antistatic, and friction properties of treated fibers are characterized. Corona treatment results in an average decrease of 5-10° in the advancing contact angle and of 10-25° in the receding contact angle for water on fibers. With amounts of spin finish lower than 0.2% by weight of fiber, treated fibers have considerably better antistatic properties than untreated fibers. Treated fibers have an order of magnitude lower electrical resistance and about 50% less static charge build-up during carding than untreated fibers. In addition, there is a sharp change in wetting and friction properties of fibers with corona treatment when the amount of spin finish is between 0.12 and 0.13 wt %. These effects are attributed to improved wetting of the treated fibers by spin finishes, leading to a more uniform spreading of finish agents on the fiber surface.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Biro, D.A. , Pleizier, G. , Deslandes, Y. , Application of the Microbond Technique, IV: Improved Fiber-Matrix Adhesion by RF Plasma Treatment of Organic Fibers, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 47, 883 (1993).

Blitshteyn, M. , Wetting Tension Measurements on Corona-Treated Polymer Films, Tappi J. 78(3), 138 (1995).

Briggs, D. , Brewis, D.M. , and Konieczko, M.B. , X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Studies of Polymer Surfaces, Part 3: Flame Treatment of Polyethylene, J. Mater. Sci. 14, 1344 (1979 ).

Briggs, D. , Surface Treatments for Polyolefins, in "Surface Analysis and Pretreatment of Plastics and Metals," Applied Science Publishers, London, 1982.

Carley, J.F. , and Kitze, P.T. , Corona-Discharge Treatment of Polymeric Films, II: Chemical Studies, Polym. Eng. Sci. 20, 330 (1980).

Chaotings, Y. , Gao, S. , and Mu, Q. , Effect of Low-Temperature-Plasma Surface Treatment on the Adhesion of Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight-Polyethylene Fibres , J. Mater. Sci. Lett. 28, 4883 (1993 ).

Gao, S. , Zeng, Y. , Surface Modification of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene Fibers by Plasma Treatment, II: Mechanism of Surface Modification, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 47, 2093 (1993).

Gao, S. , and Zeng, Y. , Surface Modification of Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene Fibers by Plasma Treatment, I: Improving Surface Adhesion, J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 47, 2065 (1993).

Kamath, Y.K. , Dansizer, C.J. , Homby , S. , and Weigmann, H.-D. , Surface Wettability Scanning of Long Filaments by a Liquid Membrane Method, Textile Res. J. 57, 205( 1987).

10.

Kodokian, G.K.A. , and Kinloch, A.J. , The Adhesive Fracture Energy of Bonded Thermoplastic Fiber-Composites, J. Adhesion 29, 193 (1989).

11.

Leijala, A. , and Hautojärvi, J. , Characterizing Spin Finish Layers on Polypropylene Fiber Surfaces by Means of Scanning Force Microscopy Techniques , Textile Res. J. 68, 193 (1998).

12.

Miller, B. , and Young, R.A. , Methodology for Studying the Wettability of Filaments, Textile Res. J. 45, 359 (1975).

13.

Ovemey, R.M. , Lüthi, R. , Haefke , H. , Frommer, J. , Meyer, E. , Güntherodt, H.-J. , Hild, S. , and Fuhrmann, J. , An Atomic Force Microscopy Study of Corona-Treated Polypropylene Films, Appl. Surf. Sci. 64, 197 (1993).

14.

Schick, M.J. , Friction and Lubrication of Synthetic Fibers, Part IV: Effect of Fiber Material and Lubricant Viscosity and Concentration, Textile Res. J. 43, 342 (1973).

15.

Schwartz, L.W. , and Garoff, S. , Contact Angle Hysteresis on Heterogeneous Surfaces, Langmuir 1, 219 (1985).

16.

Sutherland, I. , Popat, R.P. , Brewis , D.M. , and Calder, R. , Corona Discharge Treatment of Polyolefins, J. Adhesion 46, 79 (1994).

17.

Tissington, B. , Pollard, G. , and Ward, I.M. , A Study of the Effects of Oxygen Plasma Treatment on the Adhesion Behaviour of Polyethylene Fibres, Comp. Sci. Technol. 44, 185 (1992).

18.

Tsai, P.P. , Wadsworth, L.C. , and Roth, J.R. , Surface Modification of Fabrics Using a One-Atmosphere Glow Discharge Plasma to Improve Fabric Wettability, Textile Res. J. 67, 359 (1997).

19.

Vancso, G.J. , Allston, T.D. , Chun , I. , Johansson, L.-S. , Liu, G. , and Smith, P.F. , Surface Morphology of Polymer Films Imaged by Atomic Force Microscopy, Int. J. Polym. Anal. Charact. 3, 89 ( 1996).

20.

Volpe, C.D. , Fambri, L. , Fenner , R. , Migliaresi, C. , Pegoretti, A. , Air-Plasma Treated Polyethylene Fibres: Effect of Time and Temperature Ageing on Fibre Surface Properties and on Fibre-Matrix Adhesion, J. Mater. Sci. Lett. 29, 3919 (1994 ).

21.

Xu, G. , and Lin, S. , Functional Modification of Polypropylene, Rev. Macromol. Chem. Phys. C34, 555 (1994).