Polytetrafluoroethylene

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic <a href="/facts/Fluoropolymer/lMxPIDGc">fluoropolymer</a> of <a href="/facts/Tetrafluoroethylene/3lzA1S3E">tetrafluoroethylene</a>, and has numerous applications because it is <a href="/facts/Chemically_inert/oglbxzgk">chemically inert</a>. The commonly known brand name of PTFE-based composition is Teflon by <a href="/facts/Chemours/shaTInJF">Chemours</a>, a <a href="/facts/Corporate_spin-off/AAdmMr3u">spin-off</a> from <a href="/facts/DuPont_(1802%25E2%2580%25932017)/zNLs1UhH">DuPont</a>, which originally invented the compound in 1938. 
Polytetrafluoroethylene is a <a href="/facts/Fluorocarbon/jA9N6aoT">fluorocarbon</a> <a href="/facts/Solid/YU0hJq6f">solid</a>, as it is a high-<a href="/facts/Molecular-weight/FWueGMed">molecular-weight</a> <a href="/facts/Polymer/eF32E50K">polymer</a> consisting wholly of <a href="/facts/Carbon/ukrgQexo">carbon</a> and <a href="/facts/Fluorine/YUV0Fb8m">fluorine</a>. PTFE is <a href="/facts/Hydrophobic/Ifya0CXQ">hydrophobic</a>: neither water nor water-containing substances <a href="/facts/Wetting/lGloJUzr">wet</a> PTFE, as fluorocarbons exhibit only small <a href="/facts/London_dispersion_force/zU842d26">London dispersion forces</a> due to the low <a href="/facts/Polarizability/0XRkXwUu">electric polarizability</a> of fluorine. PTFE has one of the lowest <a href="/facts/Friction/d0108Rpu">coefficients of friction</a> of any solid.
Polytetrafluoroethylene is used as a <a href="/facts/Non-stick_coating/BL6MUsBv">non-stick coating</a> for <a href="/facts/Cookware_and_bakeware/ee6Wtpqd">pans</a> and other <a href="/facts/Cookware_and_bakeware/ee6Wtpqd">cookware</a>. It is <a href="/facts/Chemically_inert/oglbxzgk">non-reactive</a>, partly because of the strength of <a href="/facts/Carbon%25E2%2580%2593fluorine_bond/5owIII1f">carbon–fluorine bonds</a>, so it is often used in containers and <a href="/facts/Piping/Y8UEQBXx">pipework</a> for reactive and <a href="/facts/Corrosion/lIC7H4we">corrosive</a> chemicals. Where used as a <a href="/facts/Lubricant/9PXISDwU">lubricant</a>, PTFE reduces friction, wear, and energy consumption of machinery. It is used as a graft material in surgery and as a coating on <a href="/facts/Catheter/ehnH1eF5">catheters</a>.
PTFE and chemicals used in its production are some of the best-known and widely applied per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (<a href="/facts/Per-_and_polyfluoroalkyl_substances/KcNTVbvS">PFAS</a>), which are <a href="/facts/Persistent_organic_pollutant/80UtnJEp">persistent organic pollutants</a>. PTFE occupies more than half of all fluoropolymer production, followed by <a href="/facts/Polyvinylidene_fluoride/9LXbA0M4">polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF)</a>.
For decades, DuPont used <a href="/facts/Perfluorooctanoic_acid/My764IGA">perfluorooctanoic acid</a> (PFOA, or C8) during production of PTFE, later discontinuing its use due to <a href="/facts/Perfluorooctanoic_acid/My764IGA">legal actions</a> over <a href="/facts/Ecotoxicology/B4R4EBIb">ecotoxicological</a> and <a href="/facts/Perfluorooctanoic_acid/My764IGA">health effects of exposure to PFOA</a>. DuPont's spin-off Chemours currently manufactures PTFE using an alternative chemical it calls <a href="/facts/GenX/se0EhI2E">GenX</a>, another PFAS. Although GenX was designed to be less persistent in the environment compared to PFOA, its effects may be equally harmful or even more detrimental than those of the chemical it has replaced.

Polytetrafluoroethylene open-in-new

Polytetrafluoroethylene