Preparation of antistatic AZO/Al2O3-ZnO-Y2O3 composite thermal control coating and its study on electron-resistance radiation performance

• Inorganic AZO/Al 2 O 3 -ZnO-Y 2 O 3 composite coating was prepared by PEO and ALD methods. • When Zn/Al ratio of deposited AZO film is 24:1, its overall performance is optimal. • The composite coating shows a good electron-resistance irradiation performance. As space exploration moves further and further into deep space, it is a big challenge to develop antistatic inorganic thermal control coating with lightweight and strong adhesion to substrates. Herein, this work reported an inorganic antistatic AZO/Al 2 O 3 -ZnO-Y 2 O 3 composite coating fabricated by PEO combined with ALD methods. The results show that when the Zn/Al ratio of deposited AZO film is 24:1, its overall performance is the optimal, and the emissivity, absorptivity and resistivity are 0.892, 0.409 and 1.15 × 10 –3 Ω·cm, respectively, which can meet thermal control application requirements of spacecraft. Furthermore, the AZO/Al 2 O 3 -ZnO-Y 2 O 3 composite coating shows a good electron-resistance irradiation performance, which is because AZO conductive film is easy to generate free carriers, speed up some electron transport and make electrons better disperse and conduct, thus reducing the penetration depth of electron irradiation. This work provides a material basis for thermal control system of spacecraft with long life and high reliability.