AFM Analysis of Fullerene C60 Coated Para-Aramid Fabric via Physical Vapor Deposition

Abstract

Thin film deposition (TFD) is used to coat materials including metals, glasses and textiles with film thicknesses varying from angstrom to millimeter values. TFD methods find usage in many industries such as coating parts for engineering industries, nuclear industries and decorative industries. TFD methods are applied on textile substrates to obtain anti-static, UV-absorbing, antimicrobial, superhydrophobic and fire-resistant properties. In this study, thermal evaporation which is a TFD technique was used to coat para-aramid fabrics with Fullerene C60 nanoparticles. Samples having 0.1 μm, 0.2 μm and 0.3 μm Fullerene C60 film thicknesses were produced. Morphology and tensile properties of the samples were analysed by AFM (atomic force microscopy) analysis. An uncoated fabric was used as the control sample to compare the tensile properties of the samples. Compared to the uncoated fabric, the coated fabrics showed an increase in tensile strength. As the fullerene film thickness increased, a decrease in tensile properties was also observed. The decrease observed in the tensile properties for the C60 coated fabric samples might be caused by the coarser particles accumulating on the fabric surface as the thickness increased.