Low Temperature Fluorocarbon Gas Plasma Treatment and Fungal Resistance on Leather

Abstract

For a functionalization of leather, low temperature plasma treatment for leather was carried out with tetrafluoromethane (CF₄), hexafluoroethane (C₂F₆) and perfluoropropane (C₃F₈). Plasma-treated leather surfaces were analyzed with XPS and FT-IR and the quantitative analysis of fluorine content in leather was done by a colorimetry. Fluorine content was also measured in leather and in extracted water after the water extraction test. In those analysis, fluorocarbon polymer was detected on leather surface treated with each fluorocarbon gas plasma.
The fluorine content in leather increased with plasma treatment time, and the distribution of fluorine content in leather varied with fluorocarbon gas. In the water extraction test, the fluorine content in CF₄ treated leather decreased gradually with extraction time, but the decrease stopped after 25-50h of the extraction for C₂F₆ and C₃F₈ treated leather. The fungal resistance was increased in all fluorocarbon plasma treated leather even after the water extraction test.