Polycarbonate Sheet, Floor Mat

Floor-mat polycarbonate is clear sheet used as a hard protective layer over carpet and flooring - chair mats, desk and workstation mats, high-traffic runners and protective overlays. Polycarbonate is the right material for it because it takes point loading and repeated castor traffic without cracking the way a rigid acrylic or vinyl mat does: notched impact is 12 to 18 ft-lb/in against 0.4 for acrylic, instrumented impact is 47 ft-lb at 0.125 inch, and the brittleness temperature is minus 200F, so it does not go brittle in a cold warehouse.

Other published properties: light transmission 86% clear at 0.118 inch, tensile 9,500 psi ultimate on a 340,000 psi modulus, flexural 13,500 psi on 345,000, compressive 12,500 psi, Rockwell M70 and R118, water absorption 0.15%, specific gravity 1.20.

The practical caution is surface hardness rather than strength. Bare polycarbonate is soft at the surface - Rockwell M70 against about M95 for acrylic - so an uncoated mat will scuff and scratch with grit underfoot. If appearance over time matters, the abrasion-resistant hard-coated grade is worth the difference. Grit trapped underneath will also mark the floor it is protecting, so lift and sweep under it periodically.

Chemical compatibility and cleaning, which is where most polycarbonate failures start. Clean it with mild diluted dish soap and a soft microfibre cloth, or an ammonia-free glass cleaner. Do NOT use ammoniated glass cleaner - the common blue kind - because ammonia attacks polycarbonate, and the resin maker's own testing shows 0.1% ammonia is enough to do damage in the presence of water. Also avoid abrasive or high-alkaline cleaners, scrapers and squeegees, dry rubbing, and solvent in direct sun. Isopropyl alcohol diluted 50/50 with water handles oil and tar. Acetone, MEK, methylene chloride, chloroform, toluene, xylene and aromatic fuels all attack it, and so do amines and the plasticisers that migrate out of flexible PVC - which is why PVC gasket, tape and cable tie contact is a real failure mode. The important subtlety is that chemical resistance is not a fixed property: stress cracking only develops where the part is in tension, so a cold-bent, over-torqued or tightly framed part will fail with chemicals a compatibility chart calls safe.