Low frequency excitations in amorphous polycarbonate studied by Raman spectroscopy

Low frequency excitations in amorphous polycarbonate-bisphenol A have been studied by Iaser Raman spectroscopy in the frequency region $\text{5}\text{cm}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}\text{< Δ}\text{v}\text{?}\text{< 200}\text{cm}{}^{\mathrm{?1}}$. Depolarized spectra were recorded at temperatures between ambient and 85 K, the reduced intensity spectra show no temperature dependence. Two bands are resolved in the reduced intensity spectrum: a strong band around 96 cm^?1 and a weak band around 45 cm^?1; these are attributed to the effects of longitudinal and transverse phonon waves originating in backbone motion. The low frequency Raman intensities provide information on the density of state g(ω) from which the specific heat, C_v, of polycarbonate has been calculated. This is found to vary with temperature in a manner similar to the calorimetrically measured C_v in the low temperature range ～1 K < T < 4 K.