[gtranslate]
Hardie Polymers Logo
Europe
Request a quote
Hardie Polymers Established 1924

PC

Polycarbonate

PC

Polycarbonate

Go Back

Physical Properties

  • High Impact Strength
  • Excellent transparency and optical properties
  • High Heat resistance
  • Good Electrical Insulation Properties
  • Good Dimensional Stability
  • It remains unbreakable down to lower temperatures, typically reaching -40°C.

Typical Applications

  • Automotive Lighting
  • Optical Lenses
  • Safety Helmets
  • Electronic Enclosures
  • Medical Components

Structure

  • Polycarbonate, so called since it is a polymer containing Carbonate groups.
  • Bisphenol A polycarbonate (PC) is a linear chain polymer with a stiff backbone (benzene rings) and methyl side groups, resulting in a high glass transition temperature (Tg) of 150 °C.
  • The structure is too bulky to crystallise and PC behaves as an amorphous thermoplastic. As such it is rigid and strong but, unexpectedly, it is ductile and is one of the highest impact resistant thermoplastics.
  • As an amorphous thermoplastic, PC is transparent but soluble in moderately polar organic solvents.
  • The high Tg allows PC to be used at temperatures in excess of 120 °C.

Identification

  • Polycarbonate is not highly flammable and typically exhibits a slow burn.
  • When extinguished, it may emit a distinctive odor, which can vary depending on the specific composition and additives used.

Useful data

  • Density – 1.2g/cm ³
  • Pre-Drying – 3 hours at 120 °C in a dehumidifying hot air drier
  • Melt Temperature – 280-310 °C
  • Mould Temperature -80 -110°C
  • Shrinkage – 0.6-0.8% and with glass filled grades 0.2-0.4%

History

Although Polycarbonates were first discovered back in 1898 by a German scientist working at the University of Munich called Alfred Einhorn, it was not until much later in 1953, when Hermann Schnell working for the German chemical company Bayer in Uerdingen, patented the first linear polycarbonate. The brand name Makrolon was registered just a couple of years later in 1955.

Also in 1953, and bizarrely only one week after the invention at Bayer, across the Atlantic, a Mr Daniel Fox of General Electric in Schenectady, New York, independently synthesized a branched polycarbonate.

After some legal wrangling, the patent priority was eventually resolved in 1958 in Bayer’s favour, and they then began commercial production of polycarbonate under their new trade name Makrolon.

General Electric (GE) then began production of their polycarbonate under the name Lexan in 1960. To this day they remain the two predominant trade names in the field of polycarbonates. Both are available from Hardie Polymers.

Want to purchase PC grades? Please give us a call on +31 20 225 3396.

PC Brands

Request a Quote

Any Questions?

Our dedicated team are here to answer your queries.