Ground-based investigations of atomic oxygen erosion behaviors of Kapton and ZnO-siloxane coatings on Kapton

The erosion behaviors of Kapton and ZnO-siloxane coatings on Kapton have been studied during exposure in the AO environment in a ground-based simulation facility. The variation of chemical and physical properties of the samples surface after they were exposed to AO fluxes was investigated by LAMBDA-9 spectrophotometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results indicate that Kapton undergoes dramatically chemical degradation, including the mass loss and change of surface morphologies; ZnO-siloxane coatings have excellent properties for anti-AO effects. The erosion product is SiO2 left on the surface, thus, providing the protection from the further attack by the energetic oxygen atoms.