Abstract
A model for the melt phase polycondensation kinetics of polycarbonate is developed and applied to the solid-state polymerization of an individual spherical particle. The model includes the diffusion of phenol in the particle and tracks the evolution of the molecular weight as a function of both the process conditions and the properties of the system. The experiments examine the emerging areas of polymer processing using supercritical CO2, including the solvent-induced crystallization and the use of CO2 as the sweep fluid in the solid-state polymerization process.