Effect of Crystallinity of PET and Nylon 66 Fibers on Plasma Etching and Dyeability Characteristics

Abstract

We investigated the correlation between crystallinity and plasma susceptibility for PET and nylon 66 fibers. Plasma susceptibility is measured by the weight loss observed when fibers of varying crystallinity are exposed to air plasma. We varied the crystallinity of samples by annealing fibers at different temperatures. Plasma susceptibility and dyeability as a function of the crystallinity of fibers showed a striking resemblance: both decreased with increasing crystallinity up to a threshold crystallinity, above which there were appreciable increases. Plasma susceptibilities of these fibers, under the conditions used in this investigation, are believed to be proportional to the dyeable non-crystalline region, but not to the total noncrystalline phase of fibers.