Hello All,
I want to know the chemical composition and molecular weight of poly carbonate.
Thanks,
Vivkrish.
Hi,
Chemical composition:
For the general polycarbonate chemical structure just run a search on the internet, or just go directly to Wikipedia.
The chemical composition of the
specific grade you are using is not as easy to get, because it’s not just the basic polycarbonate - it may be “tweaked” in some ways and is also likely to contain some additives. The composition might be proprietary, and the owner is likely to consider it a trade secret.
Molecular weight (MW) is normally not a single figure. Each single PC molecule would have a specific MW around some centre value. So you would actually need to know the MW
distribution pattern, or suffice with some representative value (say, the average), which gives some information but you need to be aware that it’s rather partial. A lab that has the right equipment will be able to give you the MW distribution of a sample you submit. Please be aware that each sample is likely to give different results, especially when it’s not a raw material from a reputable source.
MFI is proportional to MW so an MFI analyser will be able to indicate the average (weighted) MW if you can pre-calibrate it with samples that have known MW.
Cheers,
Ronen.
