Difference Between Polycarbonate and Plastic

这key differencebetween polycarbonate and plastic is that聚碳酸酯较轻，但比塑料强得多。

聚碳酸酯和塑料是聚合物材料。聚合物是由称为单体的小重复单元制成的大型大分子。这monomers聚碳酸酯的双酚A和光气。这monomers of plastic depend on the type of plastic; there are two major types of plastics as热塑性和热固性polymers.

内容

1.Overview and Key Difference
2.What is Polycarbonate
3.What is Plastic
4.Side by Side Comparison – Polycarbonate vs Plastic in Tabular Form
5.概括

什么是聚碳酸酯？

聚碳酸酯是一种塑料。It is very tough; therefore, very hard to break. Furthermore, it is a polymer, and the monomer unit of this has carbonate groups. Thus, they are named as polycarbonates. And, it is made up by repeatedly combining units with the following chemical structure.

聚碳酸酯聚合物是由双苯酚A和磷酸苯酚COCL2之间的反应形成的。这些是高分子量聚合物。重要的是，加热时它变成液态，冷却后，它会冻结成玻璃状状态。因此，它是热塑性聚合物。因此，我们可以轻松地塑造并将其塑造成所需的形式。而且，由于这种属性，聚碳酸酯在各种应用中很有用。

Furthermore, polycarbonates are durable and highly resistant. It is stable in higher temperatures like 280 °F and lower temperatures like -40 °F without any deformation. Moreover, it is transparent to visible light. Therefore, we can use this compound for bulletproof windows, eyeglasses, etc. The advantage of using this polymer material rather than glass or any other plastic is that polycarbonates are lightweight but is relatively stronger in comparison to others.

Moreover, it has a high refractive index and can also bend and make glasses with equal thickness. Lenses made of this material are very thin, and they bend light more than glass or plastic. Also, it is useful in making compact disks (CDs) and Digital versatile discs (DVD)s. Furthermore, we can use polycarbonates in electronics as well. For example, cell phone, laptop or computer covers are made of this material. In addition, they are useful as automotive components.

What is Plastic?

塑料是具有较大分子质量的聚合物。这monomers of plastic can be natural or synthetic. Mostly, we produce this material from petrochemicals. There are two types of plastics: thermoplastics and thermosetting polymers. Thermoplastics becomes soft when heated and when cooled, it solidifies again. With continuous heating and cooling, we can change its shape without a problem (e.g.polyethylene,polypropylene， PVC，polystyrene）。但是，当热敏聚合物被加热和冷却时，它会永久变硬。加热时，我们可以塑造它，但是如果我们再次加热，它将分解（例如：bakelite，用于制作锅炉和锅的手柄）。

塑料以不同形式广泛使用；例如，瓶子，袋子，盒子，纤维，膜等。此外，我们可以将此材料用于许多目的，因为它对化学物质具有很高的耐药性。它们也是热和电绝缘体。不同的塑料具有不同的优势。该材料的主要生产方法包括凝结和加法反应。在合成过程中，聚合物链之间可能进行交联。

For instance, we can produce this compound by an addition reaction of the monomer ethylene. Its repeating unit is –CH2–. Depending on the way we let it polymerize, the properties of the synthesized polyethylene change. PVC or polyvinyl chloride is similar to polyethylene, with a monomer of CH2=CH2Cl, but the difference is PVC has chlorine atoms. PVC is rigid and we use it to manufacture pipes.

由于其无法降解，塑料已成为当今非常有争议的问题。塑料在我们的垃圾中占相当一部分；因此，它不断增加地球表面。

What is the Difference Between Polycarbonate and Plastic?

聚碳酸酯是一种塑料。塑料是具有较大分子质量的聚合物。这key difference between polycarbonate and plastic is that polycarbonates are lighter but much stronger than plastic. Also, another significant difference between polycarbonate and plastic is that the polycarbonate can be made thinner than plastic. Moreover, Polycarbonate is durable and hard to break in comparison to plastic.

Below infographic shows more details on the difference between polycarbonate and plastic.

概括– Polycarbonate vs Plastic

塑料是具有较大分子质量的聚合物。聚碳酸酯是一种塑料。聚碳酸酯和塑料之间的关键区别在于，聚碳酸酯较轻，但比塑料强得多。

Reference:

1. Rodriguez, Ferdinand. “Plastic.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 26 Dec. 2018,Available here.
2. “Polycarbonate.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 2 May 2019,Available here.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Polycarbonate PC” By Original uploader was PulkoCitron at fr.wikipedia – Transferred from fr.wikipedia; transferred to Commons by User:Bloody-libu using CommonsHelper(CC BY-SA 2.5)viaCommons Wikimedia
2. “3357340” (CC0) viaMax Pixel