The effect of low earth orbit atomic oxygen exposure on phenylphosphine oxide-containing poly(arylene ether)s

• Published in: Polymers for advanced technologies Vol. 9; no. 1; pp. 11 - 19
• Main Authors: Connell, John W., Smith, Jr, Joseph G., Kalil, Carol G., Siochi, Emilie J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01-01-1998
• Subjects: atomic oxygen exposure; atomic oxygen resistant polymers; LEO exposure; phenylphosphine oxide-containing poly(arylene ether)s
• ISSN: 1042-7147; 1099-1581
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1581(199801)9:1<11::AID-PAT728>3.0.CO;2-T

Unoriented thin films of phenylphosphine oxide‐containing poly(arylene ether)s were exposed to low Earth orbit aboard the space shuttle Atlantis (STS‐51) as part of a flight experiment designated Limited Duration Candidate Exposure (LDCE 4–5). The samples were exposed to primarily atomic oxygen (!10,\7×1019 atoms/cm2). Based on post‐flight analyses using atomic force microscopy, X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy, gel permeation chromatogrpahy and weight loss data, it was proposed that atomic oxygen exposure of these materials produces a phosphate layer at the surface of the samples, apparently by the reaction of atomic oxygen with the phosphorus in the polymer backbone. Ground‐based oxygen plasma exposure experiments have previously shown that this phosphate layer provides a barrier against further attack by atomic oxygen [1]. The results obtained from these analyses compare favorably with those obtained from samples exposed to an oxygen plasma in ground‐based exposure experiments [1]. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.