In this study, atmospheric-pressure plasma (APP) was used to modify the surface of polyester-cotton fleece knitted fabrics to improve their anti-hairfalling properties. A series of treated samples were obtained by changing the power of plasma and treatment time. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the surface roughness results reveal that the APP treatment can increase the roughness of fibers. The withdraw force and hairiness length of fibers results indicate that increasing withdraw force and decreasing hairiness length of fabrics can reduce hairfalling of the fibers. The values of weight loss rate confirm APP-treated powers and times can influence anti-hairfalling properties of fabrics. In addition, the best APP-treated time and electric power for the anti-hairfalling properties of the treated fabrics are respectively 15 s and 1.0 kW. Under this condition, the anti-hairfalling properties of the treated fabrics are improved by 48.3%, the contact angle decreased by 39.7%, and the wicking height increased by 18.3% compared with the untreated fabrics. It is notable that APP treatment does not affect the handle and tensile properties of fabrics.
Keywords: APP treatment; anti-hairfalling properties; polyester–cotton fleece knitted fabrics.