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Looking around at various material compatibility charts, they seem quite divided on the compatibility of metallic mercury and polycarbonate. Some sources (here, here, or here) indicate that polycarbonate is resistant to any sort of degradation by mercury. However, other sources (here, here, or here) suggest the exact opposite, that polycarbonate and mercury are severely incompatible. Why the disagreement?

Few of these charts explain their methodology or sources, and I've yet to find anything describing the claimed reaction in any detail. Mercury isn't particularly rare in chemistry, many people recommend storing mercury in plastic containers for safety, and polycarbonate media bottles are available from several major labware manufacturers. Therefore, it seems unlikely that such a reaction wouldn't be documented on the internet (apart from a few table entries).

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    $\begingroup$ All Hg is the same, are all polycarbonates the same? $\endgroup$
    – Hal
    Commented Oct 23, 2020 at 0:52
  • $\begingroup$ That's a great point. It looks like there are a variety of possible additives, formulations made with different starting monomers than the usual bisphenol A, and variations in molecular weight. Unfortunately it seems that most manufacturers don't like to disclose these exact details, and most of the compatibility charts don't list the particular brand or product line of polycarbonate tested. $\endgroup$
    – loudaslife
    Commented Oct 23, 2020 at 2:51
  • $\begingroup$ So is that one possible answer to our question of "Why the disagreement?" $\endgroup$
    – Hal
    Commented Oct 23, 2020 at 3:00

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