(3-Glycidoxypropyl)-terminated silsesquioxane impact on nanomechanical properties of polyimide coatings exposed to atomic oxygen

Based on (3-glycidoxypropyl)silsesquioxane (GSSO) derived from the hydrolytic condensation of (3-glycidoxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GPMS), GSSO-containing polyimide hybrid films were prepared using the sol–gel process and spin coating. Nanoindentation tests were carried out to study the influence of GPMS in the hybrid films on nanomechanical properties before and after exposure to atomic oxygen (AO) environments. The results show that hybrid films are three to four times harder than the usual plastic substrates. Compared with the unexposed AO samples, the elastic modulus (E) and the hardness (H) of the pristine Kapton AO-exposed samples significantly decreased, whereas the hardness of AO-exposed hybrid films increased slightly. This difference in nanomechanical properties is attributed to the chemical and the microstructural sample changes.