Erosion effects of atomic oxygen on polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-polyimide hybrid films in low earth orbit space environment.

A novel polyimide (PI) hybrid nanocomposite containing polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) had been prepared by copolymerization of trisilanolphenyl-POSS, 4,4'-oxydianiline (ODA), and pyromellitic dianhydride (PMDA). The AO resistance of these PI/POSS hybrid films was tested in the ground-based AO simulation facility. Exposed and unexposed surfaces were characterized by SEM and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. SEM images showed that the surface of the 20 wt% PI/POSS became much less rough than that of the pristine polyimide. Mass measurements of the samples showed that the erosion yield of the PI/POSS (20 wt.%) hybrid film was 1.2 x 10(-25) cm3/atom, and reduced to 4% of the polyimide film. The XPS data indicated that the carbon content of the near-surface region was decreased from 60.1 to 13.2 at% after AO exposure. The oxygen and silicon concentrations in the near-surface region increased to 1.96 after AO exposure. The nanometer-sized structure of POSS, with its large surface area, had led AO-irradiated samples to form a SiO2 passivation layer, which protected the underlying polymer from further AO attack. The incorporation of POSS into the polyimide could dramatically improve the AO resistance of polyimide films in low earth orbit environment.