【Ten Years of Rapid Development in Chemical Equipment】3028-2026: Breaking Foreign Monopolies! Wanhua Chemical has built China’s first industrial production facility for high-refractive-index PC

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Give praise and encouragement to the achievements made in China’s chemical engineering technology and equipment; your participation in discussions is the greatest encouragement. **********************【Ten Years of Great Development in Chemical Engineering Equipment】Ongoing updates and summaries available – feel free to join the discussions: https://bbs.hcbbs.com/thread-3576046-1-1.html ***************** Break foreign monopolies! Wanhua Chemical has built China’s first industrial-scale production facility for high-refractive-index PC. By developing the entire set of technologies necessary for producing such polycarbonates, China has broken Japan’s monopoly; the refractive index of these materials exceeds 1.64, with a light transmittance of over 89%. The first batch of products produced meets international advanced standards, contributing to the localization of high-end optical lenses used in smartphones, automobiles, robots, and other applications. MantaRay has learned that recently, the National Key Laboratory of High-Performance Organic Optical Polymers and Advanced Manufacturing Technologies has achieved a significant technological breakthrough – it has successfully developed a set of manufacturing techniques for high-refractive-index polycarbonate (PC) with independent intellectual property rights. This has enabled Wanhua Chemical, the institution backing this project, to build China’s first industrial facility with an annual production capacity of 1,500 tons; the key performance indicators of the first batch of products produced have reached international advanced levels. High-refractive PC is the product in the field of optical PCs that presents the highest technical barriers and the greatest practical value; it is primarily used in high-end optical lenses for smartphones, automobiles, security systems, low-altitude aircraft, humanoid robots, and other applications. Its performance directly determines the optical quality, size reduction potential, and manufacturing cost of the lens. However, the production technology for this material has long been monopolized by Japanese companies such as Mitsubishi and Teijin, which has severely restricted the autonomy, control, and innovative development of related industries in our country. To break the monopoly, the laboratory took proactive steps; by relying on its self-developed digital R&D platform for optical PC materials as well as a condensation polymerization platform, it overcame three major technical challenges: high-precision feeding of solid powders, removal of small molecules from highly viscous materials, and stable control of product properties across different batches. It also eliminated the use of phosgene and organic solvents, developing a new polycondensation process. The products resulting from this process feature a high refractive index (exceeding 1.64), high light transmittance (≥89%), high heat resistance (glass transition temperature ≥145°C), and extremely low birefringence, thereby addressing the issues associated with traditional PC resins, such as low refractive index, high birefringence, and environmental hazards. At the same time, the laboratory is working on developing technologies for products with higher refractive indices and has carried out relevant patent strategies, laying a solid foundation for creating a portfolio of domestic special optical PC products. The high-refractive PC technology independently developed by our laboratory has been successfully commercialized, marking a crucial step forward in China’s efforts to achieve self-sufficiency in high-end organic optical materials. This development provides strong support for the security and high-quality development of related industry chains and supply chains.