Graft polymerisation of functional acrylic monomers onto cotton fibres activated by continuous Ar plasma

Continuous cold Ar plasmas were used to activate the mercerised cotton fabric towards surface-initiated graft polymerisation of glycidyl methacrylate, 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and 1,1,2,2-tetrahydroperfluorodecyl methacrylate (XFDMA). Single and multi-step processes, carried out either in the plasma chamber (one-step and two-step processes) or ex situ after plasma treatment, were explored to optimise the grafting efficiency. The mechanical properties of the grafted cotton were substantially unaffected. Grafting with XFDMA gave good results only when the plasma activation was performed on monomer-impregnated fabrics, as shown by gravimetry, ATR FT-IR spectroscopy, and water and oil repellence tests. On the contrary, with HEMA better results were obtained by in situ grafting from monomer vapours.