The base of polycarbonate, better known as an engineering plastic, is bisphenol. This is produced through the reaction of bisphenol A (BPA) and phosgene. The overall reaction can be written as follows:

The first step of the synthesis involves the treatment of bisphenol A with sodium hydroxide, which deprotonates the hydroxyl (-OH) groups of the bisphenol A.[2]​.

Diphenoxide ((NaOCH)CMe) reacts with phosgene to give a chloroformate"), which is subsequently attacked by another phenoxide. The net reaction of diphenoxide is:

In this way, approximately one billion kilograms of polycarbonate are produced annually. Many other diols have been tested in place of bisphenol A; for example, 1,1-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)cyclohexane and dihydroxybenzophenone"). Cyclohexane is used as a monomer to suppress the crystallization tendency of the BPA-derived product. Tetrabromobisphenol A is used to improve fire resistance.[2]​.

Polycarbonate is produced in different ways.

1. In the form of a plate. We find a subdivision:.

2. In the form of films: used to coat products normally made with other plastics.

Polycarbonate is beginning to be very common, both in homes, in industry or in architecture, due to its three main qualities: great resistance to impacts, temperature (125 °C), as well as its transparency. Polycarbonate is used in a wide variety of fields:

PC can be processed by all normal methods used for thermoplastics.

A prerequisite for defect-free processing is a moisture content of less than 0.02% and molding compounds and semi-finished products must be preset between 4 and 24 hours at 120°C/248°F.

All commercial polycarbonates, with the exception of some of the later special purpose grades and polymer blends, have the same chemical composition.

Grades for injection molding, extrusion, blow molding and injection blow molding are complemented by offering special non-toxic grades, pseudo plastic grades and fiberglass reinforced grades and products for integral foam injection molding. The entire range is available in natural and colored formulations.

PC is supplied in the form of granules in airtight containers. Semi-finished products that include compact double or triple wall plates separated by a round section rod.

Experiences have been put into practice to recover polycarbonate from CDs and milk and water bottles, transforming them through their low cycling into low quality products, such as boxes or construction applications; or mix it in certain quantities with virgin material and obtain higher quality products such as bottles. Bayer AG recycles optical discs and polycarbonate water containers following a series of steps to separate metallic materials and the different types of plastics that may be present such as caps and stickers. These polycarbonate waste are mixed with new pellets and the necessary additives are added to obtain new products of controlled quality. The main limitation of this process is the dyes added to the waste and which may make it invalid for some applications in which it is used, such as electronic products. At the moment this process is not very economically advantageous.

However, in recent times there has been an increase in efforts to improve the recycling process, which is more complicated than for other thermoplastics given their excellent physical and chemical properties. The most used recycling processes are mechanical recycling and chemical or thermochemical recycling (pyrolysis). Currently there are cellular polycarbonates used for construction made with regenerated polycarbonate.

Look at you, Antonio. Composite Materials I. Publisher: Reverté S.A Barcelona. First digital printing in 2007. ISBN 84-921349-7-7.

Hull, Derek. Composite Materials. Publisher: Reverté SA.

Domininghaus, H. Plastics for engineers. Barcelona, ​​1993. ISBN 3-446-15723-9.

Properties of polycarbonates (online). Available at: <https://web.archive.org/web/20140221010644/http://www.eis.uva.es/~macromol/curso03-04/PC/Propiedades.htm>.

The base of polycarbonate, better known as an engineering plastic, is bisphenol. This is produced through the reaction of bisphenol A (BPA) and phosgene. The overall reaction can be written as follows:

The first step of the synthesis involves the treatment of bisphenol A with sodium hydroxide, which deprotonates the hydroxyl (-OH) groups of the bisphenol A.[2]​.

Diphenoxide ((NaOCH)CMe) reacts with phosgene to give a chloroformate"), which is subsequently attacked by another phenoxide. The net reaction of diphenoxide is:

In this way, approximately one billion kilograms of polycarbonate are produced annually. Many other diols have been tested in place of bisphenol A; for example, 1,1-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)cyclohexane and dihydroxybenzophenone"). Cyclohexane is used as a monomer to suppress the crystallization tendency of the BPA-derived product. Tetrabromobisphenol A is used to improve fire resistance.[2]​.

Polycarbonate is produced in different ways.

1. In the form of a plate. We find a subdivision:.

2. In the form of films: used to coat products normally made with other plastics.

Polycarbonate is beginning to be very common, both in homes, in industry or in architecture, due to its three main qualities: great resistance to impacts, temperature (125 °C), as well as its transparency. Polycarbonate is used in a wide variety of fields:

PC can be processed by all normal methods used for thermoplastics.

A prerequisite for defect-free processing is a moisture content of less than 0.02% and molding compounds and semi-finished products must be preset between 4 and 24 hours at 120°C/248°F.

All commercial polycarbonates, with the exception of some of the later special purpose grades and polymer blends, have the same chemical composition.

Grades for injection molding, extrusion, blow molding and injection blow molding are complemented by offering special non-toxic grades, pseudo plastic grades and fiberglass reinforced grades and products for integral foam injection molding. The entire range is available in natural and colored formulations.

PC is supplied in the form of granules in airtight containers. Semi-finished products that include compact double or triple wall plates separated by a round section rod.

Experiences have been put into practice to recover polycarbonate from CDs and milk and water bottles, transforming them through their low cycling into low quality products, such as boxes or construction applications; or mix it in certain quantities with virgin material and obtain higher quality products such as bottles. Bayer AG recycles optical discs and polycarbonate water containers following a series of steps to separate metallic materials and the different types of plastics that may be present such as caps and stickers. These polycarbonate waste are mixed with new pellets and the necessary additives are added to obtain new products of controlled quality. The main limitation of this process is the dyes added to the waste and which may make it invalid for some applications in which it is used, such as electronic products. At the moment this process is not very economically advantageous.

However, in recent times there has been an increase in efforts to improve the recycling process, which is more complicated than for other thermoplastics given their excellent physical and chemical properties. The most used recycling processes are mechanical recycling and chemical or thermochemical recycling (pyrolysis). Currently there are cellular polycarbonates used for construction made with regenerated polycarbonate.

Look at you, Antonio. Composite Materials I. Publisher: Reverté S.A Barcelona. First digital printing in 2007. ISBN 84-921349-7-7.

Hull, Derek. Composite Materials. Publisher: Reverté SA.

Domininghaus, H. Plastics for engineers. Barcelona, ​​1993. ISBN 3-446-15723-9.

Properties of polycarbonates (online). Available at: <https://web.archive.org/web/20140221010644/http://www.eis.uva.es/~macromol/curso03-04/PC/Propiedades.htm>.