PES/PVC textile surface modification by thermo-chemical treatment for improving its hydrophilicity

•Polymeric architectural textile surface was modified by thermo-chemical methods.•Effects of alkaline, acidic solutions on surface energy and wettability were observed.•Wettability of architectural textlie changed from semi-hydrophilic to hydrophilic.•Two treatment modes differently change textile chemical bonds and functional groups. Thermo-chemical treatment makes possible rapid and simple hydrophilic surface preparation, regardless of the type and properties of the material whose surface is to be modified. In this work, the mechanical roughened surface of polyvinylchloride coated polyester fabric (PES/PVC) textile was treated with alkaline and oxidative-acidic solutions at a 65 °C temperature. The induced surface modifications of PES/PVC textile after thermo-chemical pre-treatment were analysed by water contact angle measurements, scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses were used. Hydrophilic surfaces were obtained when the pre-treatment time was 1.25–1.5 h. XRD analysis confirms that there are no phase changes after PES/PVC textile mechanical roughening and thermo-chemical treatments. Elemental composition analysis by EDS technique reveals that applied surface treatment methods mostly affects carbonaceous compounds as carbon concentration is reduced by approximately 17 % and 14 % for thermo-oxidative acidic and thermo-alkaline treated PES/PVC samples, respectively. ATR-FTIR as well as XPS confirms the grafting of polar groups like C−OH, C−O, −COOH and –OH group's on PES/PVC surface. This indicates that used thermo-oxidative acidic solution destroyed or at least broke down to some extent the covalent bonds of the main carbon skeletons, which were present on PES/PVC substrate surfaces and improved surface wettability of thermo-oxidative acidic treated samples. [Display omitted]