The Erosion Effect of Kapton Film in a Ground-based Atomic Oxygen Irradiation Simulator

• Published in: Journal of Wuhan University of Technology. Materials science edition 2014-12, Vol.29 (6), p.1277-1282
• Main Authors: Wang, Haidou, Ma, Guozheng, Xu, Binshi, Xing, Zhiguo, Li, Guolu, Zhang, Sen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atomic oxygen; Beams (radiation); Chemistry and Materials Science; Electronics; Exposure; Irradiation; Materials Science; Microbalances; Organic Materials; Polyimide resins; Simulation; X射线光电子能谱法; 侵蚀效应; 原子氧; 扫描电子显微镜; 模拟器; 空间环境因素; 薄膜样品; 辐照
• ISSN: 1000-2413; 1993-0437
• DOI: 10.1007/s11595-014-1081-6

In order to investigate the effect of space environmental factors on spacecraft materials, a ground-based simulation facility for space atomic oxygen（AO） irradiation was developed in our laboratory. Some Kapton film samples were subjected to AO beam generated by this facility. The Kapton films before and after AO exposure were analyzed comparatively using optical microscopy, scanning electronic microscopy, atomic force microscopy, high-precision microbalance, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The experimental results indicate that the transmittance of Kapton film will be reduced by AO irradiation notably, and its color deepens from pale yellow to brown. Surface roughness of the AO-treated sample is already increased obviously after AO irradiation for 5 hours, and exhibits a flannel-like appearance after 15 hours’ exposure in AO beam. The imide rings and benzene rings in kapton molecule are partially decomposed, and some new bonds form during AO irradiation. The mass loss of kapton film increases linearly with the increase of AO fluence, which is resulted from the formation of volatile products, such as CO, CO2 and NOx. The breakage in structure and degradation in properties of AO-treated Kapton film can be attributed to the integrated effect ofimpaction and oxidization of AO beam. The test results agree well with the space flight experimental data.