Surface Evaluation by XPS of High Performance Foams After Exposure to Oxygen Plasma

This report will present the results of a study done during a 10-week summer faculty fellowship during the summer of 2001 working with Ms. Martha Williams of the Testbeds Group at Kennedy Space Center. The work was in a new area for this faculty and was both interesting and enjoyable. An imide is a compound in which nitrogen is bonded directly to an R group and to two other R groups through carbonyls. Polyimides have a number of properties that make them highly desirable materials for use on structures that are exposed to extreme conditions. They are strong, fire resistant, minimally outgasing, stable over a large temperature range, resistant to chemical attack, transparent to infrared and microwaves, and have a low density. One polyimide, solimide, commercially available as a foam, retains resiliency from -300 F to +500 F, is highly flame retardant, and decomposes with virtually no smoke or toxic byproduct formation. The density of this product is such that its use in place of fiberglass in the lower lobe of a 747 saves 400 lb. Shipboard applications have resulted in literally tons of weight reduction. While polyimide films have been used in structures to be placed in low earth orbit (LEO) for many years, polyimide foams have found only minimal application in this realm. NASA Langley Research Center has developed new technology that allows for the processing of new polyimide foams. The resulting increased availability of these materials, along with their highly desirable properties, has prompted a study to determine the suitability of these materials for use in structures to be placed in LEO.