Polycarbonate (abbreviated as PC) is also known as PC plastic; it is a high molecular polymer that contains carbonate ester groups in its molecular chain. It can be classified into various types based on the structure of the ester groups, including aliphatic, aromatic, and aliphatic-aromatic polycarbonates. Among them, the mechanical properties of aliphatic and aliphatic-aromatic polycarbonates are relatively low, which limits their application in engineering plastics.

Only aromatic polycarbonate has achieved industrial production. Due to the structural uniqueness of polycarbonate, it has become the fastest-growing general engineering plastic among the five major engineering plastics.

As times change and industrial requirements increase, the demands for PC materials are also rising. General PC materials cannot meet the specific product requirements of enterprises, leading to the need for modification of PC materials. Currently, there are five mainstream directions for PC modification, and today we will explore them together with Te Sheng Plastics!

Five Major Modification Directions for PC Materials

Toughened PC

The material has good impact resistance, adjustable impact performance, low molding shrinkage rate, dimensional stability, good weather resistance, high low-temperature impact resistance, and can be spray-coated. It is mainly used in thin-walled products, automotive parts, mobile phones, and other electronic and electrical products.

Flame Retardant PC

The material's flame retardant performance meets industry standards UL94 V0/1.5mm and can pass US UL certification. It can withstand a free fall impact from a height of 1.3m with a 500g steel ball. Welding can pass free fall tests, and its environmental performance meets industry regulations such as ROHS and REACH. The heat distortion temperature (1.82MPa/3.20mm) reaches 127°C. It is mainly used in high-end chargers, lamp holders, switch panels, OA equipment, and other electronic and electrical products.

Reinforced Modified PC

Adding reinforcement materials to plastics to improve their performance, especially mechanical properties that can be significantly enhanced. Reinforced modification not only leads to leaps in mechanical performance but also endows materials with excellent properties as follows:

High specific strength: High specific strength refers to the ratio of a material's strength to its relative density. By reinforcement, some plastics achieve specific strengths comparable to metals.

Good shock absorption and overload safety.

Good fatigue resistance: This means good performance against repeated stress.

Good heat resistance: Through reinforcement, the heat distortion temperature can be significantly increased.

Low coefficient of linear expansion: Due to the addition of fiber materials, the coefficient of linear expansion of reinforced materials is much lower than that of the plastic itself, resulting in a small molding shrinkage rate suitable for manufacturing products with high dimensional precision requirements.

Filled Modified PC

This refers to adding solid fillers into the plastic matrix to reduce costs or alter certain properties of the plastic.

Reinforcement: The prices of most fillers are far lower than that of plastics; thus, adding them can reduce costs.

Improving certain properties: Some properties of plastics may not be satisfactory; adding fillers can improve certain properties such as bending strength and heat resistance.

Endowing functions: For example, using metal powder or carbon black as fillers can impart conductivity to the material.

Alloy

A system obtained by blending two or more different plastics is called a plastic alloy. The main purpose of preparing alloys is to achieve better complementarity among different plastic components. Of course, some properties may also exceed those of any individual component.