Kapton polyimde (PI) is extensively used in solar arrays, spacecraft thermal blankets, and space inflatable structures. Upon exposure to atomic oxygen (AO) in low Earth orbit (LEO), Kapton is severely degraded. An effective approach to prevent this erosion is chemically bonding polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane (POSS) into the polyimide matrix by copolymerization of POSS-diamine with the polyimide monomers. POSS is a silicon and oxygen cage-like structure surrounded by organic groups and can be polymerizable. The copolymerization of POSS provides Si and O in the polymer matrix on the nano level. During POSS polyimide exposure to atomic oxygen, organic material is degraded and a silica passivation layer is formed. This silica layer protects the underlying polymer from further degradation. Ground-based studies and MISSE-1 and MISSE-5 flight results have shown that POSS polyimides are resistant to atomic oxygen attack in LEO. In fact, 3.5 wt% Si8O11 main-chain POSS polyimide eroded about 2 micron during the 3.9 year flight in LEO, whereas 32 micron of 0 wt% POSS polyimide would have eroded within 4 mos. The atomic-oxygen exposure of main-chain POSS polyimides and new side-chain POSS polyimides has shown that copolymerized POSS imparts similar AO resistance to polyimide materials regardless of POSS monomer structure.


    Access

    Access via TIB

    Check availability in my library

    Order at Subito €


    Export, share and cite



    Title :

    Space survivability of main-chain and side-chain POSS-Kapton polyimides


    Additional title:

    Weltraumbeständigkeit der Haupt- und Seitenketten-POSS-Kapton-Polyimide




    Publication date :

    2008


    Size :

    14 Seiten, 8 Bilder, 3 Tabellen, 34 Quellen




    Type of media :

    Conference paper


    Type of material :

    Print


    Language :

    English




    Space-Survivability of Main-Chain and Side-Chain POSS-Kapton® Polyimides

    Tomczak, S.J. / Wright, M.E. / Guenthner, A.J. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2009


    Synthesis and characterization of space-survivable POSS-Kapton-polyimides

    Tomczak, Sandra J. / Minton, Timothy K. / Brunsvold, Amy L. et al. | Tema Archive | 2007



    Properties and Improved Space Survivability of POSS (Polyhedral Oligomeric Silsesquioxane) Polyimides

    Tomczak, S. J. / Marchant, D. / Svejda, S. et al. | British Library Conference Proceedings | 2005