Introducing Crack-Termination Sites to Improve the Resistance of Polycarbonate on Environmental Stress Cracking

Environmental stress cracking (ESC) severely limits the long-term reliability and engineering application of polycarbonate (PC)-based materials. In this work, a universal strategy is proposed to enhance the ESC resistance of PC by introducing crack-termination sites, enabling efficient suppression of crack propagation without compromising the intrinsic mechanical properties of PC. A quantitative evaluation framework based on a constant-strain method is established, and the critical strain rate (η) is defined as a key parameter for assessing ESC behavior under chemo-mechanical coupling. Systematic experiments reveal that chain entanglements, rubbery phases, and crystalline region can effectively increase η value of PC-based materials, demonstrating their superior crack-termination efficiency. Notably, the β-crystalline phase in PBT and microcrystalline domains induced by ethylene-acrylate copolymer tougheners are identified as the most efficient crack-termination structures, providing continuous energy-dissipation pathways and effectively halting crack propagation. This work not only establishes a practical and quantitative approach for evaluating ESC performance but also provides an integrated material-modification strategy. The proposed concept of crack-termination sites offers new insight into the development of high mechanical performance and ESC resistance PC-based polymer systems for advanced industrial applications.