Abstract
Protection of polymeric materials from the atomic oxygen erosion in low-earth orbit spacecrafts has become one of the most important research topics in aerospace science. In the current research, a series of novel organic/inorganic nanocomposite films with excellent atomic oxygen (AO) resistance are prepared from the phosphorous-containing polyimide (FPI) matrix and trisilanolphenyl polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (TSP–POSS) additive. The PI matrix derived from 2,2’-bis(3,4-dicarboxyphenyl)hexafluoropropane dianhydride (6FDA) and 2,5-bis[(4-amino- phenoxy)phenyl]diphenylphosphine oxide (BADPO) itself possesses the self-healing feature in AO environment. Incorporation of TSP–POSS further enhances the AO resistance of the FPI/TSP composite films via a Si–P synergic effect. Meanwhile, the thermal stability of the pristine film is maintained. The FPI-25 composite film with a 25 wt % loading of TSP–POSS in the FPI matrix exhibits an AO erosion yield of 3.1 × 10−26 cm3/atom after an AO attack of 4.0 × 1020 atoms/cm2, which is only 5.8% and 1.0% that of pristine FPI-0 film (6FDA-BADPO) and PI-ref (PMDA-ODA) film derived from 1,2,4,5-pyromellitic anhydride (PMDA) and 4,4’-oxydianline (ODA), respectively. Inert phosphorous and silicon-containing passivation layers are observed at the surface of films during AO exposure.
Highlights
Protection of spacecraft components from long-term atomic oxygen (AO) erosion has become one of the most important issues to be addressed in the design and manufacturing of spacecraft components operating in low earth orbit (LEO) [1,2,3,4,5]
Insufficient protection from AO erosion usually occurs for the current AO resistant polymer systems due to the inner or surface deficiency caused by the blending or coating techniques [7,8,9]
Flexible and tough PI composite films cast from the poly(amic acid) (PAA)/TSP precursors at elevated temperatures under nitrogen were used for the evaluation of thermal, optical, and AO
Summary
Protection of spacecraft components from long-term atomic oxygen (AO) erosion has become one of the most important issues to be addressed in the design and manufacturing of spacecraft components operating in low earth orbit (LEO) [1,2,3,4,5]. AO-resistant polymers with a “self-healing” feature have attracted attention due to their abilities to automatically repair the surface damage caused by the AO erosion [10,11,12,13] Such kind of polymers is characterized by the incorporation of specific elements in their molecular structures, such as silicon, phosphorus, titanium, and zirconium elements. Various intrinsically AO resistant polymers, such as polysiloxaneimide [14], phosphorus-containing poly(arylene ether benzimidazole) [15], phosphorus-containing polyimide [16], and zirconium-containing polyimides [17] have been reported in the literature Incorporation of such components usually compromise the optical, thermal, and mechanical properties of the pristine polymer matrixes. The influence of the incorporation of TSP–POSS into the FPI matrix on the thermal, optical, and AO erosion features of the composite films (FPI/TSP–POSS) was investigated in detail
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