| Abstract: | The sterilization of the simulated unearthed silk fabrics using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet(APPJ) system employing Ar/O_2 or He/O_2 plasma to inactivate the mycete attached on the silk fabrics is reported. The effects of the APPJ characteristics(particularly the gas type and discharge power) on the fabric strength, physical-chemical structures,and sterilizing efficiency were investigated. Experimental results showed that the Ar/O_2 APPJ plasma can inactivate the mycete completely within 4.0 min under a discharge power of 50.0 W. Such an APPJ treatment had negligible impact on the mechanical strength of the fabric and the surface chemical characteristics. Moreover, the Ar ions, O and OH radicals were shown to play important roles on the sterilization of the mycete attached on the unearthed silk fabrics. |
