Fluorination of sized glass fibres for decreased wetting by atmospheric pressure plasma treatment in He/CF4

Sized glass fibre bundles were treated using atmospheric pressure plasma in a helium/tetrafluoromethane gas mixture. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy showed that fluorine was introduced onto the sizing surface. A new analysis method (dynamic micro-wetting) to determine the wetting rate of the plasma-treated fibre bundles is presented. The dynamic micro-wetting test using glycerol as a test liquid showed a reduced wetting rate after plasma treatment. It is demonstrated that dynamic micro-wetting is a useful tool for the characterization of fibre bundle wetting.