Influence of corona discharge on the surface and thermal properties of aramid fabrics

The aim of the research was corona discharge treatment of meta-(mAr) and para-(pAr) aramid fabrics to increase the surface free energy (SFE) and its polar component, without deterioration of the thermal properties. The fabrics were activated by plasma with 41.0, 71.75, and 102.5 J/cm(2) energy. The SFE increased from 40.38 to 70.82 mJ/m(2) for mAr and from 44.06 to 70.01 mJ/m(2) for the pAr fabric, the polar component increased from 15.33 to 34.68 mJ/m(2) and from 5.37 to 33.43 mJ/m(2), respectively. The differential scanning calorimetry temperatures have changed and Delta H-Deg for both fabrics increased. The weight loss is lower by 3.2% and 0.3% for the highest energy, respectively, for mAr and pAr fabrics.