Optical degradation of silicone in ZnO/silicone white paint irradiated by <200 keV protons

By compared with ZnO powders and silicone resin, the optical degradation of the ZnO/silicone white paint caused by <200 keV protons was investigated, and the damage mechanism was revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared spectrum analysis (FTIR). Experimental results show that the optical degradation mainly occurs in the visible region and the absorption band shifts towards longer wavelengths with increasing proton fluence. Under the proton irradiation, the resistance to optical degradation of the ZnO/silicone white paint is less than the ZnO powders and better than the silicone resin. Such a change can be related to the damage of the silicone. The damage of the silicone binder enhances the degradation of ZnO/silicone white paint, whereas the existence of ZnO pigment relieves the degradation of the silicone binder. The major damage product changes from the cyclotrisiloxane in the silicone resin to the net Si–CO structure in the silicone binder of the ZnO/silicone white paint.