**5. Conclusion**

Nonwoven fabrics have a wide variety of applications such as cleaning cloths, wipes, filters, disposable gowns and drapes, baby diapers, mattress coverings, shoe linings, insulating materials, and many others. According to EDANA [55], a trade organization in Europe, around 1,954 million tons of nonwovens (roll goods) were produced in 2012. There has been a significant growth for nonwovens market and between 2013 and 2018; a significant growth rate of 7.6% (tonnage) is predicted for global nonwovens market according to a market report by Smithers Apex [56].

vens by magnetron sputtering. For the same thickness, nonwoven materials coated with ITO showed a lower electrical resistance than those coated with AZO. The nanoscale AZO coating on nonwoven provided better UV protection than ITO coating for the same thickness [20]. Jianfeng et al. [47] studied the electromagnetic shielding efficiency of PET nonwovens by

In another study, Baek et al. [48] used microwave-induced argon plasma to modify and sputtercoat the surface of nanofibrous silk fibroin scaffolds with gold/platinum to enhance the

Nonwovens currently find applications in various industries such as medical and hygiene, home textiles such as mattresses, floor coverings, and shoe linings. A suitable environment for infection by microorganisms is created especially in nonwoven products used in hospitals, hotels, and the clothing of the personnel. Nonwovens made from natural fibers such as cotton are more susceptible to bacterial proliferation than synthetics due to the moisture content of

Antibacterial property has been imparted to nonwovens by the application of antibacterial finishes such as metallic ions of silver [40, 49], copper, and their compounds, also phenols, quaternary ammonium salts, and organosilicones. Nontoxicity of the antibacterial agent

Mazloumpour et al. [50] used atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma to impart antimi‐ crobial properties to a polypropylene spun-bond nonwoven. A durable antimicrobial property was achieved on the nonwoven by plasma grafting of diallyldimethylammonium chloride

Several studies showed metal, that is, silver, sputtering onto polypropylene and polyester nonwovens and polyacrylonitrile electrospun nonwovens to impart antibacterial property [51, 52, 53]. Shahidi et al. [16] deposited copper onto the surface of cotton fabric samples by DC magnetron sputtering for antibacterial effect and found that duration of the application process was shorter compared to conventional application processes using nonionic detergent and metallic salts. The obtained antibacterial effect was found to be durable against 30 washing

Plasma deposition has also been used to impart flame retardancy to nonwovens. Acrylate monomers containing phosphorus have been plasma grafted on cotton and PET/cotton fabrics. Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of an organosilicon thin film on polyamide 6 has

Nonwoven fabrics have a wide variety of applications such as cleaning cloths, wipes, filters, disposable gowns and drapes, baby diapers, mattress coverings, shoe linings, insulating materials, and many others. According to EDANA [55], a trade organization in Europe, around

been performed using the cold remote nitrogen plasma process [54].

sputtering of nanoscaled Cu, Ag, Ag/Cu, and Ag/Cu/Ag films.

becomes critical depending on the end-use of the product.

(DADMAC) in the presence of a cross-linker.

natural fibers.

226 Non-woven Fabrics

cycles.

**5. Conclusion**

attachment and proliferation of the human articular chondrocyte cultures.

Nonwoven technologies offer the ability to easily manipulate fabric properties such as porosity, weight, mechanical strength, and surface textures much more cost-effectively than their woven or knitted counterparts. Additional functionalities can be added to nonwovens by padding and coating treatments; therefore, functional performance of the final product can be enhanced. The conventional methods for coating application include wet chemical proc‐ esses where there is use of large quantities of chemicals, solvents, water, and energy. There are major drawbacks for conventional wet processes such as use of toxic solvents that are harmful to human health and environment, large quantities of energy and water consumption, and disposal of chemicals.

Plasma surface treatments have been shown to have unique advantages including environ‐ ment- friendly process, low production cost, and modification of only the upper molecular layers of the substrates without changing the material's bulk properties. Plasma treatment has been recognized as an alternative ecological surface treatment to conventional wet textile coating and finishing treatments.

Plasma-based techniques offer many opportunities to obtain different surface functionaliza‐ tions on various substrates. Surface properties of nonwovens can be engineered from hydro‐ philic to super-hydrophobic with plasma treatments. Plasma techniques provide many surface treatment possibilities such as surface cleaning, surface activation, etching, surface roughen‐ ing, thin film deposition at nanoscale and grafting. With plasma coating techniques, tailormade surfaces can be created with specific functions such as flame retardancy, electrical conductivity, antibacterial, or self-cleaning effects.

The low surface energy fibers such as polypropylene and polyester are widely used in many nonwoven applications and inherently they are hydrophobic, so their wettability is generally achieved by a hydrophilic surface treatment such as a wet-chemical treatment. Plasma processes have been successfully applied to improve the wettability of inherently hydrophobic surfaces. Moreover, plasma treatment has been recognized as a pretreatment technique for enhancement of the adhesion of a nonwoven surface to another or a coating layer to a non‐ woven substrate. The addition of oxygen-containing functional groups, such as –OH, –C=O, –COOH, on surfaces through plasma treatment was found to increase the dye-uptake and printability of nonwoven substrates.

Plasma technology continues to offer opportunities to tailor the surface properties of nonwo‐ vens and impart unique characteristics to the fabrics; yet there are still challenges in the integration of the plasma systems to industrial-scale roll-to-roll production lines. Although there are available industrial atmospheric plasma treatment systems, particularly the incor‐ poration of plasma thin-film deposition to industrial roll-to-roll processes is still at an evolving stage.
