The Effect of Atomic Oxygen on POSS-Polyimides (Preprint)

Abstract : Kapton(Registered) is ubiquitous in space-structures, yet degrades severely in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) due to reactions with atomic oxygen (AO). Polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) is a cage-like structure of silicon and oxygen, surrounded by organic groups. Both main-chain (MC) and side-chain (SC) POSS-diamines have been polymerized to form POSS-Kapton-polyimides (POSS-Kapton-PIs) which have comparable resistance to AO. POSS-copolymers form an AO-resistant silica layer upon exposure to AO, which has been identified by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS). Images of space-flown MC-POSS-Kapton-PIs, physical properties of both MC-POSS-Kaptons and SC-POSS-Kaptons, and transmission electron micrographs of MC-POSS-Kaptons will be presented.