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Polycarbonate and Sodium Peroxide: Chemical Resistance

Polycarbonate

Rating

Concentration20 °C50 °CRemark
10 %C*–
saturatedC*–

* estimated rating, given in the source without a temperature

Material comparison at 20 °C

Sodium Peroxide: Material comparison at 20 °CPolycarbonate: C (highlighted); EPDM: A; Viton (FPM): A; LDPE: A; PTFE: A; PVC Rigid: A.EPDM: AViton (FPM): ALDPE: APTFE: APVC Rigid: APVDF: ASS 304: ASS 316: ANBR: CPolycarbonate: CPCAluminium: DNylon (PA): DPETG: DAcetal (POM): DECTFE/ETFE: –FEP: –HDPE: –PMP: –PP: –Polystyrene: –Polysulfone: –PVC Flexible: –SAN: –Silicone: –
A very good resistanceB good resistanceC limited resistanceD not resistantno data
Each bar is one material. Taller bars indicate better resistance. The highlighted bar is the current material.

Resistance overview

Polycarbonate maintains a consistent rating of C across all 2 tested concentrations (10 %, saturated) of Sodium Peroxide at 20 °C. The fact that the rating does not change with concentration within the tested range simplifies material selection, though the boundary conditions beyond this range remain untested. The rating remains stable between 20 °C and 50 °C, which means this material can also handle moderately elevated process temperatures without additional risk.

Application context

Sodium Peroxide is commonly encountered in waste treatment and chemical processing. Polycarbonate (Polycarbonate) is a thermoplastic typically used for tanks, piping, containers and liners. Because Sodium Peroxide is classified as corrosive, the choice of containment material is especially critical to prevent leaks, equipment damage, and safety hazards.

Practical recommendation

Polycarbonate has limited resistance to Sodium Peroxide and should only be used for short-term or intermittent contact at ambient temperature. The C rating means the material undergoes noticeable changes — swelling, loss of strength, or surface degradation — that make it unsuitable for permanent installations. For prolonged or continuous exposure, LDPE, PVC Rigid, PTFE offer significantly better resistance and are rated A.

Did you know?

In industrial practice, Polycarbonate components exposed to Sodium Peroxide are typically inspected for swelling, discoloration, or loss of mechanical strength as early indicators of chemical attack.

Materials rated A or B at 20 °C

Based on the row for 10 %, 20 °C.

Thermoplastics
PVC Rigid A, LDPE A
Fluoropolymers
PTFE A, PVDF A
Elastomers
EPDM A, Viton (FPM) A
Metals
SS 316 A, SS 304 A

About Polycarbonate

Polycarbonate is attacked by alkalis, amines, ketones, esters and many organic solvents, and it stress-cracks under load in contact with them.

Rating scale

A rating marked * is an estimate in the source, not a test result. An estimate is given as one value without a temperature.

About this data

The ratings come from the chemical resistance list published by Bürkle GmbH, which compiled them from raw-material manufacturers’ data. They describe laboratory tests on the raw material at 20 °C and 50 °C.

A finished part also sees pressure, mechanical stress, welds and mixtures that a laboratory test does not. Treat the rating as a first filter and test under your own conditions before relying on it.