ABSTRACT
Various chemical and physical treatments have been used to modify fiber surfaces, such as solvent treatments [1, 2], surface grafting [3], laser treatments [4] and plasma treatments [5]. Among these treatments, low-pressure plasma (low temperature) treatments have been proven to be effective in surface modifications, such as creation of micro-roughness (ablation and etching), introduction of new
chemical functional groups, polymerization (cross-linking) and coating (deposition) [5-9]. Although low-pressure plasma treatments are effective in many applications, it is necessary to carry them out under low pressure, ranging from a few to about 100 Pa. Therefore, for processing of most materials, low-pressure plasma is likely to be a batch process, which is time-and energy-consuming and, thus, may not be cost-effective for many applications.
