Fibrous and Porous Materials
Using VaporPhase™ to add functional value to woven, knit, and nonwoven fabrics - as well as microporous films and nanofiber webs.
Engineering moisture and air permeable materials with controlled surface chemistry - ranging from super-hydrophobic, hydrophobic, and oleophobic, to permanent hydrophilic. VaporPhase™ is fast, economical, and water-free - making it one of the more environmentally responsible industrial processes on the planet.
Durable Water Repellent (DWR) Coatings
Woven and knitted fabrics are "grafted," resulting in the covalent bonding of omni-phobic molecules directly to the fiber surface. This result is durable water repellency without having any effect on hand/feel. Because VaporPhase™ layers are deposited uniformly throughout the bulk of the fabric, water absorption is minimized, which means faster drying. Best of all, performance is achieved without using a single drop of water.
Processing of Sensitive Substrates
VaporPhase™ is a low temperature, low energy, process. This makes it ideal for processing sensitive substrates that can include low-temperature olefin-based substrates and delicate nanofiber materials. Treatment occurs with little to no damage.
Treatment of Nanofibers. VaporPhase™ treated TPU nanofiber web. Water repellency = 100% IPA; Oil = n-Heptane.
Super-Fast. Economical. Commercially Proven.
VaporPhase™ is not a conventional wet process. Nor is it a plasma deposition process. It's just... different. Unlike all competing processes, it is designed for speed - with a minimum operating speed measured in 10's to 100's of meters per minute. And it's not confined to the lab - Sigma operates a line that is 2.5m wide and has commissioned lines as wide as 3.2m for processing woven and nonwoven textiles. The process is operated every day producing products sold to leading brands throughout the world.