Polymers
used for the exteriors of spacecraft are always exposed
to risks such as atomic oxygen (AO) or electrostatic discharge (ESD)
degradation. In this work, an Al
x
Ti
y
O/NiCr coating with excellent mechanical stability,
AO durability, and electrostatic dissipative properties was deposited
via ion implantation (IIP), filter cathode vacuum arc (FCVA), and
high-power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) on a flexible Kapton
substrate. Scratch and cycle folding tests indicated good adhesion
and toughness of the Al
x
Ti
y
O/NiCr-coated Kapton, which were due to the gradient
structure fabricated by the multitechnology combination. AO exposure
tests demonstrated an extremely low erosion yield (E
y = 5.15 × 10–26 cm3 atom–1) of the Al
x
Ti
y
O/NiCr-coated Kapton, only 1.72% of
that observed for pristine Kapton. Moreover, Rutherford backscattering
spectrometry (RBS) and Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) results
showed that the Al
x
Ti
y
O/NiCr-coated Kapton has elevated surface electrostatic
dissipative properties and sufficient conductivity. The multitechnology
combination offers great flexibility for customizing the gradient
structure to realize a comprehensive performance improvement. In addition,
such a coating has great prospects for aerospace applications.
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