Hard Coated Polycarbonate For Automotive Applications

Automotive glazing represents a significant high volume application opportunity for thermoplastic materials. Specifically, the use of polycarbonate can provide benefits such as vehicle weight reduction, occupant containment and design flexibility. According to the author, polycarbonate has superb impact resistance, optical clarity and the processing benefits of thermoplastic, but lacks abrasion, solvent and weathering performance. However, it has been shown that solution applied silicone-based hardcoats and plasma deposited inorganic coatings can overcome some of these problems. The test data and real life performance of these applications are presented in this article, as they apply to automotive glazing requirements.