Photodegradation of Self-Immolating Polymers as a Potential Solution to Optical Scattering

Autor: Gallion, Alex, McFarland, Sydney, Allred, David, Paxton, Walter
Rok vydání: 2023
Předmět:
Zdroj: Utah Space Grant Consortium
Popis: Starshades and other sensitive optical devices require dust mitigation techniques to protect their surfaces. We investigate coating these surfaces with a photodegradable polymer film that will vaporize when exposed to ultraviolet light. A series of experiments was conducted in which we studied this phenomenon in vacuum after applying a photo-depolymerizing coating. Poly (2-methyl, 1-pentene) sulfone is shown to degrade in vacuum when exposed to 172 nm UV light. Future studies will examine whether the coating can be used to remove dust contaminants from sensitive optical devices upon photoirradiation..
Databáze: OpenAIRE