Novel Transparent Films Composed of Bisphenol-A Polycarbonate and Copolyester.

In this paper, the structure and properties of transparent films composed of bisphenol-A polycarbonate (PC) and a commercially available copolyester, poly(1,4-cyclohexanedimethanol-co-2,2,4,4-tetramethyl-1,3-cyclobutanediol-co-terephthalate) (CPE), were studied. Both PC and CPE films are known to be transparent with good mechanical toughness. It was found that PC/CPE (50/50) showed miscibility in both the molten and solid states, indicating that there is a high possibility for the blend system to be miscible in the whole blend ratios. Because of the miscibility, the blend films showed no light scattering originating from phase separation. The mechanical properties of the films, such as Young's modulus, yield stress, and strain at break, were determined by the blend ratio, and the glass transition temperature increased with the PC content, which corresponded well with the values predicted by the Fox equation. These results demonstrate that the thermal and mechanical properties of the films can only be controlled by the blend ratio. Since these transparent films showed excellent mechanical toughness irrespective of the blend ratios, they can be employed in various applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]