Riyadh MA Abdul Majeed¹, Prashant S Alegaonkar²*, Sudha V Bhoraskar³ and Vasant N Bhoraskar³

¹Department of Physics, University of Hodaidah, Hodaidah, Yemen
²Department of Physics, School of Basic Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, PS, India
³Department of Physics, University of Pune, Ganeshkhind, Pune, MS, India

*Corresponding Author: Prashant S Alegaonkar, Department of Physics, School of Basic Sciences, Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, PS, India.

Received: December 13, 2022; Published: December 20, 2022

Abstract

Radiation resistant coatings are of utmost importance for the space vehicle protection. Herein, we report on radiation assisted doping of boron and fluorine (B/F) in polyimide (C22H10N2O5, PMDA-ODA, Kapton-H) to enhance the erosion resistant capability against atomic oxygen (AO) ions. Doping of B/F in polyimide is carried out using Co-60 γ-radiations over a dose range of 64-384 kGy@room temperature. Boron is seen to be distributed at a depth of ~ 2 μm from the surface, whereas fluorine is bonded to carbonaceous backbone. Details of the bonding architecture is presented. Virgin and B/F polyimide are subjected to AO ions from plasma having an average energy of ~ 12 eV, and fluence over 5-20×1016 ions/cm2. The paper reports the analysis of the mass loss, erosion characteristics, modifications in surface texture apart from the molecular and electronic properties. By and large it is observed that the mass loss in prevented by three-fold times, wherein, erosion yield is reduced by a factor of two in B/F polyimide (@max. doping) as compared to that in the virgin. Effectively, the presence of boron and C-F bonding offers erosion resistance to polyimide by AO ions. Similar improvement in the radiation resistance for polyimide is expected for atomic oxygen. Details are presented.

Keywords: Atomic Oxygen; Plasma Treatment; Polyimide; Surface Modifications; Radiation Resistance

References

1. Mittal KL. “Polyimides and Other High Temperature Polymers: Synthesis, Characterization and Applications”. CRC Press 2 (2003).
2. Tribble AC. “The space environment: implications for spacecraft design-revised and expanded edition”. Princeton University Press (2020).
3. Skurat VE., et al. “Proceedings of the Sixth International Symposium on Materials in a Space Environment ESTES, Noordwijk, The Netherlands”. 19-23 September (1994): 183-187.
4. Wolan JT and Hoflund GB. “Chemical and structural alterations induced at Kapton® surfaces by air exposures following atomic oxygen or 1 keV Ar+ treatments”. Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films2 (1999): 662-664.
5. Milinchuk VK., et al. “Degradation of polymer materials in low earth orbits”. High Energy Chemistry1 (2004): 8-12.
6. Packirisamy S., et al. “Atomic oxygen resistant coatings for low earth orbit space structures”. Journal of Materials Science2 (1995): 308-320.
7. Katz I., et al. “Plasma turbulence enhanced current collection: Results from the plasma motor generator electrodynamic tether flight”. Journal of Geophysical Research: Space PhysicsA2 (1995): 1687-1690.
8. Minton T K and Garton DJ. “Dynamics of atomic-oxygen-induced polymer degradation in low earth orbit”. In Chemical dynamics in extreme environments (2001): 420-489.
9. De Groh K K and Banks BA. “Atomic oxygen erosion data from the MISSE 2-8 missions (No. NASA/TM—2019-219982)” (2019).
10. Osborne J J., et al. “Satellite and rocket-borne atomic oxygen sensor techniques”. Review of Scientific Instruments 11 (2001): 4025-4041.
11. Abdul Majeed RM., et al. “Irradiation effects of 12 eV oxygen ions on polyimide and fluorinated ethylene propylene”. Radiation Effects and Defects in Solids8 (2006): 495-503.
12. Zhao XH., et al. “A study of the reaction characteristics and mechanism of Kapton in a plasma-type ground-based atomic oxygen effects simulation facility”. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics15 (2001): 2308.
13. Tagawa M and Yokota K. “Issues and consequences of space environmental effect on materials”. Transactions of the Japan society for aeronautical and space sciences, space technology Japan 7.26 (2006): Tr_2_21-Tr_2_26.
14. Wu Z., et al. “Preparation of surface conductive and highly reflective silvered polyimide films by surface modification and in situ self-metallization technique”. Thin Solid Films1-2 (2005): 179-184.
15. Tahara H., et al. “Exposure of space material insulators to energetic ions”. Journal of Applied Physics6 (1995): 3719-3723.
16. Tomczak SJ., et al. “Properties and improved space survivability of poss (polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane) polyimides”. MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) (2004): 851.
17. Pastore R., et al. “Space environment exposure effects on ceramic coating for thermal protection systems”. Journal of Spacecraft and Rockets5 (2021): 1387-1393.
18. Delfini A., et al. “Evaluation of atomic oxygen effects on nano-coated carbon-carbon structures for re-entry applications”. Acta Astronautica 161 (2019): 276-282.
19. Delfini A., et al. “CVD nano-coating of carbon composites for space materials atomic oxygen shielding”. Procedia Structural Integrity 3 (2017): 208-216.
20. Abdul Majeed RMA., et al. “Dielectric constant and surface morphology of the elemental diffused polyimide”. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics22 (2006): 4855.
21. Dokhale P A., et al. Materials Science and Engineering B 57 (1998): 1-8.
22. Briggs D. “Practical surface analysis”. Auger and X-Ray Photoelecton Spectroscory 1 (1990): 151-152.
23. Abdul Majeed RMA., et al. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 490 (2021): 49-54.
24. Mathakari NL., et al. “6 MeV pulsed electron beam induced surface and structural changes in polyimide”. Materials Science and Engineering: B1-3 (2010): 122-126.
25. Youmei Sun., et al. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research B 218 (2004): 318.
26. Naddaf M., et al. “Surface interaction of polyimide with oxygen ECR plasma”. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 222.1-2 (2004): 135-144.
27. Severin D., et al. “Degradation of polyimide under irradiation with swift heavy ions”. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 236.1-4 (2005): 456-460.
28. Sun Y., et al. “The thermal-spike model description of the ion-irradiated polyimide”. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 218 (2004): 318-322.

Citation

Citation: Prashant S Alegaonkar., et al. “Anti-erosive Boron and Fluorine Doped Polyimide Coatings for Space Radiation Environment Protection". Acta Scientific Applied Physics 3.1 (2023): 29-38.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2022 Prashant S Alegaonkar., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.