Environmentally friendly surface modification of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fabric by low-temperature oxygen plasma and carboxymethyl chitosan

Polyester fiber is one of the most important materials for textile manufacturing. However, the conventional antistatic finishing processes for polyester involve numerous energies and chemicals, with corresponding environmental pollution. In this work the synergetic effects of low-temperature oxygen plasma (P) and N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan (N) treatments on the antistatic and antibacterial properties of polyester fabrics were investigated. The physicochemical changes in polyester fabric surface were detected by attenuated total reflection-Fourier transforms infrared spectrometer (ATR-FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscope (SEM). After treatment with low-temperature oxygen plasma, larger amounts of oxygen containing polar groups appeared on the surface of fabrics. Together with N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan treatment, the loading efficiency was significantly improved. In comparison with an oxygen plasma or N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan treatment solely, good water absorbency of polyester fabric was achieved by their combined treatment (PN). Treatment with N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan delivered good antistatic property of fabrics. Moreover, the N and PN treated fabrics showed 19.4% and 38.8% bacterial reduction against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus, Gram positive), respectively. However, all the treated polyester fabrics had no obviously antibacterial effect on Escherichia coli (E. coli, Gram-negative). The potential mechanism of the surface modification was also proposed, and then an appropriate attachment process of N,O-carboxymethyl chitosan on the surface of the plasma treated polyester fabric was suggested. These findings indicate that the proposed process can provide good antistatic performance for polyester fabrics with a minimum of pollution.