Refractive Index Anisotropies of Constructive Units in Polycarbonates

Abstract

The following methods were considered for decreasing refractive index anisotropies (RIA) of constructive units in bisphenol-A polycarbonate: 1) Substitution of side-chain methyl groups with atomic groups of large RIA to cancel those in constructive units. 2) Substitution of side-chain methyl groups by other alkyl groups to change conformations of main-chain phenyl groups in constructive units. Utilizing the above methods, polycarbonate systems with constructive units with low RIA were obtained.