Fabrication of a wearable directional moisture-transfer cotton by clean technology of wet plasma, without fluoride consumption

Abstract A cleaner wearable cotton which has the properties of one-way water transfer and resisting external liquid contamination was fabricated in this study. Wet plasma combined with fluorine-free hydrophobic agent (WP-FfHA) was used as an environmental-friendly technology in the preparation process. Other than the attribute of environmental protection, it was proved that wet plasma can not only reduce the consumption of water-repellent agent by 25 %, but also significantly improve the waterproofness of fabric through contact angle measurement. Water-drip test was used to determine the asymmetric wettability of the fabric. The results display that the water droplets were transferred from the undersurface to the top surface within less than 3 s through wicking zones, even under the condition of reverse gravity. Meanwhile, the liquids on the upper surface were not able to reverse-penetrate to the bottom. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were employed to analyze the micro-topography and chemical construction of the wicking and non-wicking areas on the fabric surface. Tests for fastness showed that the fabric maintained a contact angle of 145 ° after 5 times of regular soaping. Investigation of breathability and mechanical property confirmed that the wearability of the cleaner directional moisture-transfer fabric was not adversely affected by this novel modification approach.