One of the most widely utilized and well-established atomic oxygen (AO) protection solutions for LEO satellites is the deposition of protective coatings on polymeric materials. However, manufacturing extensive expanses of coating materials with good transparency, flexibility, smoothness, ultra-thinness, and exceptional AO resistance remains a critical issue. Herein, we successfully deposited a 400 nm thick polyorgansiloxane (SiOxCyHz) coating with high optical transparency and uniform good adherence on a 1.2 m wide polyimide surface by optimizing the distribution of hexamethyldisiloxane and oxygen as precursors in the roll-to-roll compatible plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process. After AO irradiation with the fluence of 7.9 × 1020 atoms cm–2, the erosion yield of the SiOxCyHz -coated Kapton was less than 2.30 × 10–26 cm3 atom–1, which was less than 0.77% of that of the Kapton. It indicates that the SiOxCyHz coating can well prevent the erosion of Kapton by AO. In addition, it was also clarified that a SiO2 passivation layer was formed on the surface of the SiOxCyHz coating during AO irradiation, which exhibited a “self-reinforcing” defense mechanism. The entire preparation process of the SiOxCyHz coating was highly efficient and low-cost, and it has shown great application potential in LEO.

In comparison to the more traditional anticorrosion thin film coatings, the plasma polymerization approach offered a more efficient, dry, and straightforward procedure that made it possible to create dense films of several hundred nanometers in thickness, which has potential applications in metallic implant materials. In this paper, large-scale plasma polymerized hexamethyldisiloxane (ppHMDSO) thin film coatings were deposited on stainless steel substrates at different electrode distances to improve their corrosion resistance. The physicochemical properties and corrosion resistance of the ppHMDSO thin films as prepared at different electrode distances were characterized and gauged utilizing various characterization means. The results indicate that decreasing electrode distance accelerates monomer fragmentation and increases the oxidation process. The deposition rate and roughness of the ppHMDSO films both decreased as the electrode distance increased, while the carbonaceous group and hydrophobicity of the films enhanced. The ppHMDSO film prepared at an electrode distance of 40 mm obtained excellent elastic recovery and wear resistance and had an improved corrosion resistance, resulting in a reduction of 75% of the original corrosion behavior against the corrosion in Hank’s solution. The resulting large-scale ppHMDSO thin film coatings can be further employed in implants for tissue engineering and biomaterials.

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