Atomic Oxygen Erosion-Corrosion to Polyimide in Low Earth Orbit and Its Protective Measures

Space vehicles are important carriers for humans to explore, develop and utilize outer space. In low Earth orbit (LEO) space, the performance of aircraft materials is degraded due to various erosion-corrosion effects. Among them, high energy atomic oxygen (AO) is the most important environmental factor responsible for the failure of spacecraft materials. The AO erosion-corrosion behavior of space atomic oxygen to typical space materials and various AO-resistant coating technologies are reviewed. The protective properties of a novel graphene two-dimensional material and its composite modified coatings against atomic oxygen erosion-corrosion are introduced in detail in order to provide technical reference for the development of AO-resistant coatings.