The Effect of Oligomer Blending on the Flow Properties of Polycarbonate

We successfully prepared high-flow polycarbonate (PC) by blending commercial PC with a low molecular weight PC oligomer. The oligomer was synthesized by the addition of a large quantity of mono functional phenol groups, and the chain end group was reacted with p-tertiary butyl phenol (PTBP) to block the reactivity. The viscosity average molecular weight ($M_v$) for the oligomer was about 4,000-5,000 g/mol, compared to ~19,000 g/mol for the PC blend obtained by blending 10 wt% of the prepared oligomer with the commercial grade PC ($M_v$ of 21,000 g/mol). The blended PC had a melt flow index of 45, which is 2.5 times higher, and a processing temperature that was $20^{\circ}C$ lower, than that of commercial grade PC having a similar $M_v$.