Wool Surface Modification And Its Influence On Related Functional Properties

A particular combined treatment consisting of specific fibre surface tailoring and activation by low-temperature plasma prior to biopolymer or enzyme post-application is described. Owing to selective modification of wool surface, low-temperature plasma treatment leads to the formation of new surface groups and also to the "step-by-step" removal of the F-layer. The low-temperature plasma/chitosan, as well as the low-temperature plasma/enzyme treatment are presented in this paper. These treatments are compared to the modern chemical treatment of wool combining liquid systems (peroxide, peroxide/enzyme) with a liquid biopolymer system (chitosan). All investigated treatments in this study result in an increase in wettability, dimensional stability and polymer adhesion. The dyeing and sorption properties of thus modified wool are also significantly improved.