slides contain some information about polycarbonate, as follow: - History - What is PC? - Structure - Production - Processing - Manufacturing & Block diagram - Properties - Applications

1. Polymer Engineering
POLYCARBONATE

2. Contents
• History
• Polycarbonate structure
• Polymer production
• Processing
• Manufacturing diagram
• Properties
• Applications

3. History
• Dr. Hermann Schnell and
his team at “Bayer”
company discovered
polycarbonate in 1953,
forever changing how we
live our lives.
• PC was introduced in
United States Of America
in 1960 by “general
electric” company
• As the next 63 years have
shown, polycarbonate has
evolved, finding its way
into a multitude of
products that touch our
lives every day.

4. What is polycarbonate?
• Polycarbonates received their name because they are polymers
containing carbonate groups (-O-(C=O)-O-).
• Its most popular trade name is LEXAN.
• PC is a good material choice in industry not only due to its
characteristics, but also because its processing is environmentally
friendly, and it can be recycled.
• About 2.7 million tons of polycarbonate are produced annually
worldwide.

5. Structure
• Polycarbonates are long-chain linear polyesters of carbonic acid and
dihydric phenols, such as bisphenol A.
• Take a look at the above diagram. In it, you will see two six-sided
structures. These are called phenyl groups. You will also see two
groups identified by the label CH3. These are methyl groups. The
presence of the phenyl groups on the molecular chain and the two
methyl side groups contribute to molecular stiffness in the
polycarbonate. This stiffness has a large effect on the properties of
polycarbonate. First, attraction between of the phenyl groups
between different molecules contributes to a lack of mobility of the
individual molecules. This results in good thermal resistance but
relatively high viscosity (i.e., low melt flow) during processing. The
inflexibility and the lack of mobility prevent polycarbonate from
developing a significant crystalline structure. This lack of crystalline
structure (the amorphous nature of the polymer) allows for light
transparency.

6. Polymer Production
• The main polycarbonate material is produced by the reaction of bisphenol A
and phosgene (COCl2). The overall reaction can be written as follows:
Bisphenol A Phosgene PC polymer
• Polycarbonate is transformed from pellets into the desired shape.

7. Processing
Polycarbonate
Extrusion
Moulding
The molten PC is passed through a die The PC melt is pressed into a mold with
that gives the material its final shape. the defined shape of the final product.
After this, the melt is cooled rapidly. the melt is then cooled inside the mold.

8. Block flow Diagram

9. Manufacturing

10. Properties
• excellent physical properties
• excellent toughness
• transparent
• fair processing
• good electrical insulating properties
• Light weight
• Good scratch resistance
• Excellent thermal properties
• Very durable
• The addition of glass fibers to polycarbonate significantly increases the
tensile strength, and heat deflection temperature . The greater the
amount of glass fiber added to the polycarbonate, the greater the effect on
each property will be.

11. How do strength
property in PC
compare to other
plastics?
• ABS: Acrylonitrile butadiene
styrene
• PPO: Polyphenylene Oxide
• PBT: Polybutylene
terephthalate
• PET: Polyethylene
terephthalate
• The characteristics of
polycarbonate are quite like
those of polymethyl
methacrylate (PMMA, acrylic),
but polycarbonate is stronger,
usable in a wider temperature
range but more expensive.

12. Strength test

13. Applications
bullet proof glass lenses bottles
face shield
Safety glasses

14. Applications
Electronic components Construction headlamp lenses
Riot shields Data storage

15. “HIGH INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY IN
NEW DAMIETTA (NDETI)”
“CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT”
SUPERVISOR: DR, REHAM ATEF
PREPARED BY,
AMR RASHAD