Abstract
In the present study, the environmental stress cracking resistance (ESCR) of a vibration-welded polycarbonate (PC) nanocomposite filled with 1 vol.-% nanosilica was comprehensively investigated with the help of an online optical crack measurement approach. The experimental results reveal that the improvement of the ESCR strongly depended on the stress cracking agents (SCAs) used. In deionized (DI) water, addition of nanosilica leads to a significant increase in the ESCR of neat PC. In contrast, the enhancement of the ESCR in isopropanol after incorporating nanosilica is marginal. This observed improvement is attributed to the much more plastic deformations and micro cavities induced by the nano-sized particles during fracture of the materials, which are elucidated through the optical analysis.
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