On the environmental stress cracking of a vibration-welded polycarbonate (PC)-based nanocomposite

In the present study, the environmental stress cracking resistance (ESCR) of a vibration-welded polycarbonate (PC) nanocomposite filled with 1 vol.-% nanosilica was comprehensively investigated with the help of an online optical crack measurement approach. The experimental results reveal that the improvement of the ESCR strongly depended on the stress cracking agents (SCAs) used. In deionized (DI) water, addition of nanosilica leads to a significant increase in the ESCR of neat PC. In contrast, the enhancement of the ESCR in isopropanol after incorporating nanosilica is marginal. This observed improvement is attributed to the much more plastic de-formations and micro cavities induced by the nano-sized particles during fracture of the materials, which are elucidated through the optical analysis.

Automated summary

The present study comprehensively investigated the environmental stress cracking resistance (ESCR) of a vibration-welded polycarbonate (PC) nanocomposite filled with 1 vol.-% nanosilica using an online optical crack measurement approach. The experimental results showed that the improvement of ESCR depended strongly on the stress cracking agents (SCAs) used. Addition of nanosilica led to a significant increase in the ESCR of neat PC in deionized water, while the enhancement in isopropanol after incorporating nanosilica was marginal. The observed improvement was attributed to the plastic deformations and micro cavities induced by the nano-sized particles during fracture of the materials, as elucidated through optical analysis.