Some new aspects of the crystallization of bisphenol‐A polycarbonate

This paper concerns the action of plasticizers and nucleating agents on the crystallization of bisphenol‐A polycarbonate. The influence of plasticizers is to increase the rate of crystallization to a great extent using 10 percent of a plasticizer such as trimellitic acid, tridecyloctyl ester. The influence of nucleating substances on plasticized and undiluted polycarbonate is investigated. A large number of substances have been found capable of nucleating polycarbonate crystallization. The un‐plasticized semi‐crystalline polycarbonate is characterized by a much higher melting point (300°C) than the plasticized semi‐crystalline systems (210–245°C). The stability of bisphenol‐A polycarbonate in the presence of nucleating salts is also examined. We observe a substantial decrease in the molecular weight in the presence of a great number of nucleating substances. The modulus‐temperature curves of two semi‐crystalline polymers are reported in the last series of experiments.