Engineering Mechanics Research polycarbonates

The most desirable property of polycarbonates is their high ductility on impact, relative to other engineering polymers in the unmodified state. There is no consensus on the mechanism of ductility researchers continue to explore this behavior through molecular dynamics studies of chain segment motion during the formation of crazes and propagation of the failure. 

This chapter reviews the research and the most relevant progresses in polycarbonates (PC)s science and provides a comprehensive source of information on history, synthesis, processing and applications. The application of different polymerization procedure of the commercial aromatic bisphenol-A polycarbonate (referred herein as PC) and the innovative enzymatic catalysed polymerization of aliphatic polycarbonate are summarized. Due to the high engineering performance of PC polymer, an extensive section on mechanical, electrical, chemical and thermal properties is included. The thermo and photo oxidative behaviours, the hydrolytic stability and the consequent modification on PC chemical structure are also discussed. The development of PC polymeric materials such as composites and blends are also addressed, emphasizing in particular the properties and the applications of impact modified PC blends and even of the PC/Polyester systems. 

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