Abstract:

Low temperature plasma as a pretreatment technology was adopted to improve the kapok fiber dyeing behavior. The micromorphology and structure were investigated by SEM and FT-IR. Effect of status on mechanical properties and dyeing properties of kapok fiber was investigated emphatically with four different processes including strong alkaline treatment, semi alkaline treatment, low temperature plasma treatment and semi alkaline treatment combined with low temperature plasma treatment. The research result shows that the four pretreatment processes can rapidly improve the water absorbing capacity and dyeing performance. Low temperature plasma treatment processes on the surface of fiber. Semi alkaline treatment combined with low temperature plasma treatment can effectively reduce the mechanical damage caused by alkaline treatment and improve the dyeing ability of the reactive dyestuff. Taking Reactive Orange X-EN as an example, its rate of dye-uptake and fixation could reach 86.63 % and 70.32 %, respectively, after the treatment of semi alkaline treatment combined with low temperature plasma.

Key words: dapok fiber, low temperature plasma, reactive dye, dyeing property