Study on bisphenol-A polycarbonates samples crystallized by acetone vapor induction

Abstract

Bisphenol-A polycarbonate (PC) is an important amorphous engineering polymer, which can have its crystallinity induced by
special environmental conditions. Such crystallization can alter PC properties leading to flaws during its use or to new applications.
Cast film samples of PC, prepared from chloroform solutions, were submitted to acetone vapor and characterized by polarized
light microscopy (PLM), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). PLM showed
that the PC crystalline structure was presented as spherulites of different sizes. DSC analysis exhibited a multiple melting
behavior for the crystalline structure. FTIR has presented bands shifting and intensity decrease, compared to the samples
before treatment. Compression molded samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), DSC and mechanical
properties tests. For those samples, DSC also showed the presence of a crystalline phase, with a little increase on surface
rugosity observed through SEM. Stress–strain tests presented a decrease on samples performance after acetone exposure.

KeywordsAcetone vapor–Crystallinity induction–Bisphenol-A polycarbonate