RSM Optimization of Plasma Initiated Grafting of Acrylic Acid onto Polypropylene Nonwoven

In this paper, the process of grafting of acrylic acid on the surface of polypropylene nonwoven using oxygen plasma treatment is studied and optimized. The response surface methodology (RSM) involving D-optimal criterion was used for the modeling and optimization of the process. The effect of plasma treatment time, plasma power, acrylic acid concentration, grafting time and grafting temperature on grafting yield was investigated. According to analysis of variance (ANOVA) results, the proposed model can be used to navigate the design space very well. The results showed good agreement between experimental and model predictions with high correlation coefficients. The optimum operation condition for obtaining the highest amount of accessible functional sites was predicted. The results showed that the grafting yield is affected by all the parameters studied but it is mostly sensitive to plasma treatment and grafting times and grafting temperature.