Flexible Hard Coatings with Self-Evolution Behavior in a Low Earth Orbit Environment

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Aerospace Engineering
• Polymer Chemistry

Background:

• Lightweight, flexible polymer membranes are crucial for deployable space structures.
• These structures face challenges from mechanical stress during launch and atomic oxygen (AO) erosion in low Earth orbit (LEO).
• Existing AO-resistant coatings often lack the required mechanical robustness and long-term protection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate a novel coating for polymer membranes that offers both mechanical robustness and long-term space endurance.
• To address the limitations of current coatings in protecting deployable membrane structures in LEO.
• To develop a coating solution that withstands AO erosion and mechanical stresses.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a hybrid coating using an inorganic polymer precursor.
• Creation of a nanoscale polymer/silica bicontinuous phase on the polymer membrane.
• Investigating the coating's in situ self-evolution under synergistic atomic oxygen (AO) and ultraviolet (UV) exposure.

Main Results:

• The hybrid coating demonstrated outstanding flexibility and excellent abrasion resistance.
• The coating exhibited in situ self-evolution under AO and UV, forming a dense, crack-free silica layer.
• The resulting silica coating provided outstanding endurance against space environment exposure.

Conclusions:

• The developed inorganic polymer-derived coating strategy offers a promising solution for protecting polymer membranes.
• This approach enhances mechanical robustness and provides long-term protection against AO in LEO.
• The technology holds significant potential for the durability of deployable membrane structures in space applications.