2025/11/27 by Lise Sujol, Thierry Paulmier, Éric Dantras
Materials Science · #Polymer Nanocomposite Synthesis and Irradiation #Silicone and Siloxane Chemistry #Polymer Nanocomposites and Properties
paper · doi:10.1016/j.polymdegradstab.2025.111824
Orbiting satellites operate in a hostile environment characterized by a high vacuum of the order of 10 −11 mbar, thermal cycling and particle irradiation. This study focusses on proton irradiation and their effects on the physical properties of poly(ether-ether-ketone) (PEEK). It is a high-performance thermoplastic, commonly used in space industry because of its low outgassing and good resistance to irradiations. 8 μ m PEEK films were irradiated with 1 MeV protons to avoid any possible implantation and to obtain an homogeneous dose in the thickness. Four doses representative of the lifetime of a satellite in GEOstationary (GEO) orbit were carried out. Analysis of the physico-chemical structure revealed two main phenomena after irradiation : amorphization and crosslinking. The study of molecular mobility confirmed these evolutions. Correlation of the different analysis techniques highlighted a change in behaviour from 50 MGy : crosslinking prevails over amorphization and chain scission. Then, new pristine samples were irradiated with electrons at equivalent doses. The comparison showed no major difference between proton-irradiated and electron-irradiated PEEK, except crytsallization. Indeed, proton irradiation leads to a higher decrease of crystallization temperature and crystallinity degree that can be due to the creation of a greater number of defects in the crystalline phase.