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Bisphenol A polycarbonate (BPA-PC) is an important engineering plastic with unique properties. However, it has some inherent flaws like chemical resistance toward greases and oils. Hence, to improve the chemical resistance the effect of small amounts of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) functionalized with allyl glycidyl epoxy (AGE) were evaluated. Low amounts of PBT and AGE provided a transparent blend composition with an allyl functionality. Detailed structural analysis by [sup.1]H-NMR showed the addition reaction of AGE-epoxy with acid end group of PBT, followed by an expected substitution reaction of the modified PBT with BPA-PC. This unique blend composition exhibited [T.sub.g] of 131[degrees]C and melting temperature ([T.sub.m]) of 221[degrees]C by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Further, the microscopy study of blend revealed the stable morphology of PBT domain distributed into PC matrix indicating chemical compatibilization. The mechanical property evaluation of the blend demonstrated an improved flow, an increase in modulus, tensile strength, and higher elongation at break. Thus, a chemical compatible transparent blend of BPA-PC and PBT with allyl group functionalization has been achieved and first evaluations show slight improvement of chemical resistance toward Banana Boat Sun cream over the BPA-PC homopolymer. KEYWORDS compatibilization, functionalization of polymers, polycarbonates, reactive extrusion, transparency, 1 | INTRODUCTION Bisphenol A polycarbonate (BPA-PC) is an excellent engineering thermoplastic material because of its exceptional balance of mechanical, heat, optical, and electrical properties. [1] However, it suffers from [...]

Industrial lighting applications require plastics that can be used at elevated temperatures for long periods of time. To test the suitability of a new class of high-heat polycarbonates, their heat-aging [...]

The surface and edge emissions from dye-filled and dye-topped polycarbonate and polymethyl methacrylate luminescent solar concentrators were measured. We demonstrate that about 40-50% of the absorbed light energy (and 50-70% of the photons) is lost through the top and bottom surfaces of the filled waveguide. In most cases the escape cone losses are greater at the top than the bottom surface. OCIS codes: 350.6050, 350.5500, 310.2785, 260.2510, 230.7390, 160.5470.