The net reaction from the diphenoxide is: In this way, approximately one billion kilograms of polycarbonate is produced annually.

[9] Tools must be held at high temperatures, generally above 80 °C (176 °F) to make strain-free and stress-free products.

Unlike most thermoplastics, polycarbonate can undergo large plastic deformations without cracking or breaking.

As a result, it can be processed and formed at room temperature using sheet metal techniques, such as bending on a brake.

This makes it valuable in prototyping applications where transparent or electrically non-conductive parts are needed, which cannot be made from sheet metal.

A good electrical insulator with heat-resistant and flame-retardant properties, it is used in products associated with power systems and telecommunications hardware.

[11][12] The second largest consumer of polycarbonates is the construction industry, e.g. for domelights, flat or curved glazing, roofing sheets and sound walls.

Polycarbonates are used extensively in 3D FDM printing, producing durable strong plastic products with a high melting point.

Its low weight and high impact resistance have made polycarbonate the dominant material for automotive headlamp lenses.

However, automotive headlamps require outer surface coatings because of its low scratch resistance and susceptibility to ultraviolet degradation (yellowing).

So-called "theft-proof" large plastic packaging for smaller items, which cannot be opened by hand, is typically made from polycarbonate.

The cockpit canopy of the Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor jet fighter is fabricated from high optical quality polycarbonate.

The use of injection molded drinking bottles, glasses and food containers is common, but the use of BPA in the manufacture of polycarbonate has stirred concerns (see Potential hazards in food contact applications), leading to development and use of "BPA-free" plastics in various formulations.

Polycarbonate is commonly used in eye protection, as well as in other projectile-resistant viewing and lighting applications that would normally indicate the use of glass, but require much higher impact-resistance.

Many toys and hobby items are made from polycarbonate parts, like fins, gyro mounts, and flybar locks in radio-controlled helicopters,[18] and transparent LEGO (ABS is used for opaque pieces).

Other applications, including polycarbonate sheets, may have the anti-UV layer added as a special coating or a coextrusion for enhanced weathering resistance.

Many polycarbonate grades are used in medical applications and comply with both ISO 10993-1 and USP Class VI standards (occasionally referred to as PC-ISO).

Samsung started using polycarbonate with Galaxy S III's hyperglaze-branded removable battery cover in 2012.

Research resumed in 1953, when Hermann Schnell at Bayer in Uerdingen, Germany patented the first linear polycarbonate.

[26] Also in 1953, and one week after the invention at Bayer, Daniel Fox at General Electric (GE) in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, independently synthesized a branched polycarbonate.

Bisphenol A appeared to be released from polycarbonate animal cages into water at room temperature and it may have been responsible for enlargement of the reproductive organs of female mice.

An analysis of the literature on bisphenol A leachate low-dose effects by vom Saal and Hughes published in August 2005 seems to have found a suggestive correlation between the source of funding and the conclusion drawn.

[31] Sodium hypochlorite bleach and other alkali cleaners catalyze the release of the bisphenol A from polycarbonate containers.

Studies have shown that at temperatures above 70 °C, and high humidity, polycarbonate will hydrolyze to bisphenol A (BPA).

[37][39][40] Waste polycarbonate will degrade at high temperatures to form solid, liquid and gaseous pollutants.

Studies show they are likely to facilitate ground level ozone formation and increase photo-chemical smog.