UV-Protected Polycarbonate Sheet PC Plastic Sheets
Solid PC sheets are transparent/semi-transparent engineering plastic sheets made from polycarbonate as the base material through an extrusion process, featuring a single solid structure and no hollow layers. Polycarbonate is a high-molecular polymer with carbonate groups in its main chain, possessing extremely high intermolecular forces and a rigidity-toughness balance structure, giving solid PC sheets excellent impact resistance, high light transmittance, and lightweight properties.
Solid PC sheets range in thickness from 1mm to 250mm, with widths typically ranging from 1000 to 2000mm, and lengths can be customized. Their core characteristics are "solid, one-piece construction, high transparency, strong impact resistance, and lightweight," maintaining the basic performance advantages of PC material while offering higher surface flatness, more uniform mechanical properties, and greater processing flexibility due to the absence of a hollow structure. They are commonly used in fields such as architectural lighting, industrial protection, advertising displays, and precision instrument protection where high safety, transparency, and structural integrity are required.
PC Sheet Performance Basics
1. Basic Physical Properties
- Density: Approximately 1.20 g/cm³.
- Appearance: Transparent type, colorless and transparent; can also be made into colored solid sheets such as blue, green, and brown by adding masterbatch (for sun shading or decoration); smooth surface with a glassy texture (similar to glass but not brittle).
- Water Absorption: Moderate hygroscopicity (equilibrium water absorption rate approximately 0.15-0.35%, affected by ambient humidity). Pre-drying at 50-60℃ for 2-4 hours before processing is recommended (moisture content > 0.02% will cause hydrolysis during processing, reducing strength).
2. Mechanical Properties
- Tensile Strength: 55-75 MPa (moderately high, capable of withstanding small to medium tensile loads).
- Flexural Strength: 80-110 MPa (good bending resistance, suitable for small to medium span structural components).
- Notched Impact Strength of Simply Supported Beam: 600-900 J/m.
- Hardness: Rockwell hardness (R) approximately 118-120.
3. Optical Properties
- Light transmittance: Transparent solid PC sheet light transmittance 89%-92% (close to 91% of glass), haze <1%.
- Gloss: Surface gloss 100-120 GU (smooth reflective effect similar to glass, suitable for display applications).
- Birefringence: Extremely low (low optical distortion, suitable for precision optical components, such as lens covers).
4. Thermal Properties
- Heat distortion temperature (HDT): 130-140℃ (under 0.45MPa load), short-term heat resistance up to 150-160℃ (HDT can be increased to over 180℃ after reinforcement).
- Long-term service temperature: ≤120℃ (ordinary solid PC sheet), short-term resistance to 140-150℃ (e.g., components subject to brief heating).
- Melting temperature: Approximately 220-240℃.
- Decomposition temperature: Approximately 280-300℃.
- Linear expansion coefficient: Approximately 6.5×10⁻⁵/℃.
5. Chemical Properties
- Chemical resistance: Good resistance to water, alcohols, and weak acids; however, it is sensitive to aromatic hydrocarbons, chlorinated hydrocarbons, ketones, and esters (long-term contact may lead to swelling or stress cracking).
- Oil resistance: Moderate resistance to mineral oils and lubricating oils (slight swelling may occur after prolonged immersion).
- Weather resistance (anti-aging): Ordinary solid PC sheets will gradually yellow and become brittle after long-term exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation (outdoor lifespan approximately 1-2 years); solid PC sheets with added UV-resistant coatings (surface containing a 0.1-0.3mm UV-resistant layer) can resist more than 99% of UV radiation, extending outdoor lifespan to 5-10 years (e.g., outdoor protective covers, display panels).
6. Electrical Properties
- Electrical insulation: Excellent insulating material! Volume resistivity > 10¹⁵ Ω·cm (slightly higher than POM), dielectric strength ≥ 18 kV/mm (voltage withstand performance meets general electrical requirements), but insulation performance decreases slightly in humid environments (due to hygroscopicity).
- Dielectric constant: approximately 2.9-3.1 (low loss, suitable for general insulation applications).
