Abstract
In this work, the atomic oxygen (AO) erosion-resistance effect and mechanism of the Perhydropolysilazane (PHPS) coating were investigated from the perspective of element distribution in the depth direction. The results revealed that the coating demonstrated good adhesion and intrinsic AO erosion-resistance, which was attributed to the composition gradient formed in the coating. Moreover, the oxygen ratio of the SiOx on top layer of the coating could be elevated during AO exposure, strengthening the Ar ion etching durability of the coating. According to these results, an AO erosion-resistance mechanism model of the PHPS-derived SiOx coating was finally obtained.
Highlights
Polymeric materials, relying on their good mechanical, chemical, and dielectric properties, are widely used on spacecraft to carry the flexible equipment, package the spacecraft, or reflect the solar radiation and so on [1,2]
To reveal the atomic oxygen (AO) resistance of the PHPS coating, the elemental composition and lateral and depth distribution of elements of the coating were investigated by XPS
The results of our analysis showed that a gradient distribution of the composition emerged in the PHPS coating on Kapton, which means the PHPS coating was incompletely hydrolyzed
Summary
Polymeric materials, relying on their good mechanical, chemical, and dielectric properties, are widely used on spacecraft to carry the flexible equipment, package the spacecraft, or reflect the solar radiation and so on [1,2]. Intense vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) are the most important factors for the erosion of polymeric materials of spacecrafts [3,4,5,6]. AO and VUV could cause serious damage to polymers, thereby decreasing the chemical stability and service life of the spacecraft. Such damage mainly occurs due to these three aspects. AO is the most abundant atmosphere composition in LEO, and with its density reaching about 107 –1010 atom cm−3 , has about 8 km s−1 impacting velocity at ram impact velocities, corresponding to the total kinetic energy of 4.5–5 eV [7,8,9].
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