The effect of physical aging on the embrittlement of steam-sterilized polycarbonate

Polycarbonate is known to suffer from dramatic reductions in ductility upon exposure to hot, humid environments, such as during steam sterilization. Two phenomena have been proposed to be the main causes of this embrittlement: hydrolysis and microcavity formation. The present study focuses on a third phenomenon, whose contribution to the embrittlement has until now been considered insignificant: (physical) aging. By studying the influence of steam sterilization on the tensile deformation behavior of polycarbonate, it is shown that aging actually is one of the dominant factors in the embrittlement.