Polytetrafluoroethylene

Polytetrafluoroethylene
Names
IUPAC name
poly(1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethylene)[1]
Other names
Syncolon, Fluon, Poly(tetrafluoroethene), Poly(difluoromethylene), Poly(tetrafluoroethylene)
Identifiers
Abbreviations PTFE
ChEBI
ChemSpider
  • none
ECHA InfoCard 100.120.367
KEGG
Properties
(C2F4)n
Density 2200 kg/m3
Melting point 600 K
327 °C
Thermal conductivity 0.25 W/(m·K)
Hazards
NFPA 704
Flammability code 0: Will not burn. E.g., water Health code 1: Exposure would cause irritation but only minor residual injury. E.g., turpentine Reactivity code 0: Normally stable, even under fire exposure conditions, and is not reactive with water. E.g., liquid nitrogen Special hazards (white): no codeNFPA 704 four-colored diamond
0
1
0
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
N verify (what is YesYN ?)
Infobox references

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that has numerous applications. The best known brand name of PTFE-based formulas is Teflon by Chemours.[2] Chemours is a 2015 spin-off of DuPont Co.,[3] which discovered the compound in 1938.[2]

PTFE is a fluorocarbon solid, as it is a high-molecular-weight compound consisting wholly of carbon and fluorine. PTFE is hydrophobic: neither water nor water-containing substances wet PTFE, as fluorocarbons demonstrate mitigated London dispersion forces due to the high electronegativity of fluorine. PTFE has one of the lowest coefficients of friction of any solid.

PTFE is used as a non-stick coating for pans and other cookware. It is non-reactive, partly because of the strength of carbon–fluorine bonds, and so it is often used in containers and pipework for reactive and corrosive chemicals. Where used as a lubricant, PTFE reduces friction, wear and energy consumption of machinery. It is commonly used as a graft material in surgical interventions. Also, it is frequently employed as coating on catheters; this interferes with the ability of bacteria and other infectious agents to adhere to catheters and cause hospital-acquired infections.

History

External audio
"From stove tops to outer space... Teflon touches every one of us some way almost every day.", Roy Plunkett, Chemical Heritage Foundation
Teflon thermal cover showing impact craters, from NASA's Ultra Heavy Cosmic Ray Experiment (UHCRE)

PTFE was accidentally discovered in 1938 by Roy Plunkett while he was working in New Jersey for DuPont. As Plunkett attempted to make a new chlorofluorocarbon refrigerant, the tetrafluoroethylene gas in its pressure bottle stopped flowing before the bottle's weight had dropped to the point signaling "empty." Since Plunkett was measuring the amount of gas used by weighing the bottle, he became curious as to the source of the weight, and finally resorted to sawing the bottle apart. He found the bottle's interior coated with a waxy white material that was oddly slippery. Analysis showed that it was polymerized perfluoroethylene, with the iron from the inside of the container having acted as a catalyst at high pressure. Kinetic Chemicals patented the new fluorinated plastic (analogous to the already known polyethylene) in 1941,[4] and registered the Teflon trademark in 1945.[5][6]

By 1948, DuPont, which founded Kinetic Chemicals in partnership with General Motors, was producing over two million pounds (900 tons) of Teflon brand PTFE per year in Parkersburg, West Virginia.[7] An early use was in the Manhattan Project as a material to coat valves and seals in the pipes holding highly reactive uranium hexafluoride at the vast K-25 uranium enrichment plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.[8]

In 1954, the wife of French engineer Marc Grégoire urged him to try the material he had been using on fishing tackle on her cooking pans. He subsequently created the first Teflon-coated, non-stick pans under the brandname Tefal (combining "Tef" from "Teflon" and "al" from aluminium).[9] In the United States, Marion A. Trozzolo, who had been using the substance on scientific utensils, marketed the first US-made Teflon-coated pan, "The Happy Pan", in 1961.[10]

However, Tefal was not the only company to utilize PTFE in nonstick cookware coatings. In subsequent years, many cookware manufacturers developed proprietary PTFE-based formulas, including Swiss Diamond International, which uses a diamond-reinforced PTFE formula;[11] Scanpan, which uses a titanium-reinforced PTFE formula;[12] and both All-Clad[13] and Newell Rubbermaid's Calphalon, which use a non-reinforced PTFE-based nonstick.[14] Other cookware companies, such as Meyer Corporation's Anolon, use Teflon[15] nonstick coatings purchased from DuPont.

In the 1990s, it was found that PTFE could be radiation cross-linked above its melting point in an oxygen-free environment.[16] Electron beam processing is one example of radiation processing. Cross-linked PTFE has improved high-temperature mechanical properties and radiation stability. This was significant because, for many years, irradiation at ambient conditions has been used to break down PTFE for recycling.[17] This radiation-induced chain scission allows it to be more easily reground and reused.

Production

PTFE is produced by free-radical polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene. The net equation is

n F2C=CF2 → −(F2C−CF2)n−

Because tetrafluoroethylene can explosively decompose to tetrafluoromethane and carbon, special apparatus is required for the polymerization to prevent hot spots that might initiate this dangerous side reaction. The process is typically initiated with persulfate, which homolyzes to generate sulfate radicals:

[O3SO−OSO3]2− ⇌ 2 SO4•−

The resulting polymer is terminated with sulfate ester groups, which can be hydrolyzed to give OH end-groups.[18]

Because PTFE is poorly soluble in almost all solvents, the polymerization is conducted as an emulsion in water. This process gives a suspension of polymer particles. Alternatively, the polymerization is conducted using a surfactant such as PFOS.

Properties

PTFE is often used to coat non-stick pans as it is hydrophobic and possesses fairly high heat resistance.
Advertisement of the Happy Pan, a Teflon-coated pan from the 1960s

PTFE is a thermoplastic polymer, which is a white solid at room temperature, with a density of about 2200 kg/m3. According to DuPont, its melting point is 600 K (327 °C; 620 °F).[19] It maintains high strength, toughness and self-lubrication at low temperatures down to 5 K (−268.15 °C; −450.67 °F), and good flexibility at temperatures above 194 K (−79 °C; −110 °F).[20] PTFE gains its properties from the aggregate effect of carbon-fluorine bonds, as do all fluorocarbons. The only chemicals known to affect these carbon-fluorine bonds are highly reactive metals like the alkali metals, and at higher temperatures also such metals as aluminium and magnesium, and fluorinating agents such as xenon difluoride and cobalt(III) fluoride.[21]

Property Value
Density 2200 kg/m3
Glass temperature 388 K [22]
Melting point 600 K
Thermal expansion 112–125 · 10−6 K−1 [23]
Thermal diffusivity 0.124 mm2/s [24]
Young's modulus 0.5 GPa
Yield strength 23 MPa
Bulk resistivity 1016 Ω·m [25]
Coefficient of friction 0.05–0.10
Dielectric constant ε = 2.1, tan(δ) < 5(-4)
Dielectric constant (60 Hz) ε = 2.1, tan(δ) < 2(-4)
Dielectric strength (1 MHz) 60 MV/m
Magnetic Susceptibility (SI, 22 °C) −10.28×10−6 [26]

The coefficient of friction of plastics is usually measured against polished steel.[27] PTFE's coefficient of friction is 0.05 to 0.10,[19] which is the third-lowest of any known solid material (BAM being the first, with a coefficient of friction of 0.02; diamond-like carbon being second-lowest at 0.05). PTFE's resistance to van der Waals forces means that it is the only known surface to which a gecko cannot stick.[28] In fact, PTFE can be used to prevent insects climbing up surfaces painted with the material. PTFE is so slippery that insects cannot get a grip and tend to fall off. For example, PTFE is used to prevent ants climbing out of formicaria.

Because of its chemical inertness, PTFE cannot be cross-linked like an elastomer. Therefore, it has no "memory" and is subject to creep. Because of its superior chemical and thermal properties, PTFE is often used as a gasket material. However, because of the propensity to creep, the long-term performance of such seals is worse than for elastomers which exhibit zero, or near-zero, levels of creep. In critical applications, Belleville washers are often used to apply continuous force to PTFE gaskets, ensuring a minimal loss of performance over the lifetime of the gasket.[29]

Processing

Processing PTFE can be difficult and expensive, because the high melting temperature, 327 °C (621 °F), is above the initial decomposition temperature, 200 °C (392 °F).[30] Even when melted, PTFE does not flow, but instead behaves as a gel.

Some PTFE parts are made by cold-moulding. Here, fine powdered PTFE is forced into a mould under high pressure. After a settling period, lasting from minutes to days, the mould is heated, allowing the fine particles to fuse into a single mass.[31]

Applications and uses

The major application of PTFE, consuming about 50% of production, is for wiring in aerospace and computer applications (e.g. hookup wire, coaxial cables). This application exploits the fact that PTFE has excellent dielectric properties,[32] especially at high radio frequencies,[32] making it suitable for use as an excellent insulator in connector assemblies and cables, and in printed circuit boards used at microwave frequencies. Combined with its high melting temperature, this makes it the material of choice as a high-performance substitute for the weaker and lower-melting-point polyethylene commonly used in low-cost applications.

In industrial applications, owing to its low friction, PTFE is used for plain bearings, gears, slide plates, and more applications with sliding action of parts, where it outperforms acetal and nylon.[33]

Its extremely high bulk resistivity makes it an ideal material for fabricating long-life electrets, the electrostatic analogues of magnets.[32]

PTFE film is also widely used in the production of carbon fiber composites as well as fiberglass composites, notably in the aerospace industry. PTFE film is used as a barrier between the carbon or fiberglass part being built, and breather and bagging materials used to incapsulate the bondment when debulking (vacuum removal of air from between layers of laid-up plies of material) and when curing the composite, usually in an autoclave. The PTFE, used here as a film, prevents the non-production materials from sticking to the part being built, which is sticky due to the carbon-graphite or fiberglass plies being pre-pregnated with bismaleimide resin. Non-production materials such as Teflon, Airweave Breather and the bag itself would be considered F.O.D. (foreign object debris/damage) if left in layup.

Because of its extreme non-reactivity and high temperature rating, PTFE is often used as the liner in hose assemblies, expansion joints, and in industrial pipe lines, particularly in applications using acids, alkalis, or other chemicals. Its frictionless qualities allow improved flow of highly viscous liquids, and for uses in applications such as brake hoses.

Gore-Tex is a material incorporating a fluoropolymer membrane with micropores. The roof of the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in Minneapolis, US, was one of the largest applications of PTFE coatings. 20 acres (81,000 m2) of the material was used in the creation of the white double-layered PTFE-coated fiberglass dome.

PTFE is often found in musical instrument lubrication product; most commonly, valve oil.

Other

PTFE (Teflon) is best known for its use in coating non-stick frying pans and other cookware, as it is hydrophobic and possesses fairly high heat resistance.

PTFE tapes with pressure-sensitive adhesive backing

The sole plates of some clothes irons are coated with PTFE (Teflon).[34]

Niche

PTFE is a versatile material that is found in many niche applications:

Safety

Pyrolysis of PTFE is detectable at 200 °C (392 °F), and it evolves several fluorocarbon gases and a sublimate. An animal study conducted in 1955 concluded that it is unlikely that these products would be generated in amounts significant to health at temperatures below 250 °C (482 °F).[30]

While PTFE is stable and nontoxic at lower temperatures, it begins to deteriorate after the temperature of cookware reaches about 260 °C (500 °F), and decomposes above 350 °C (662 °F).[47] The degradation by-products can be lethal to birds,[48] and can cause flu-like symptoms[49] in humans—see polymer fume fever.

Meat is usually fried between 204 and 232 °C (399 and 450 °F), and most oils start to smoke before a temperature of 260 °C (500 °F) is reached, but there are at least two cooking oils (refined safflower oil at 265 °C (510 °F) and avocado oil at 271 °C (520 °F)) that have a higher smoke point.

PFOA

Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA, or C8) has been used as a surfactant in the emulsion polymerization of PTFE, although several manufacturers have entirely discontinued its use. PFOA persists indefinitely in the environment. It is a toxicant and carcinogen in animals. PFOA has been detected in the blood of more than 98% of the general US population in the low and sub-parts per billion range, and levels are higher in chemical plant employees and surrounding subpopulations. The general population has been exposed to PFOA through massive dumping of C8 waste into the ocean and near the Ohio River Valley.[50][51] PFOA has been detected in industrial waste, stain resistant carpets, carpet cleaning liquids, house dust, microwave popcorn bags, water, food and Teflon cookware.

As a result of a class-action lawsuit and community settlement with DuPont, three epidemiologists conducted studies on the population surrounding a chemical plant that was exposed to PFOA at levels greater than in the general population. The studies concluded that there was probably an association between PFOA exposure and six health outcomes: kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol), and pregnancy-induced hypertension.[52]

Overall, PTFE cookware is considered an insignificant exposure pathway to PFOA.[53][54]

Similar polymers

Teflon is also used as the trade name for a polymer with similar properties, perfluoroalkoxy polymer resin (PFA)

The Teflon trade name is also used for other polymers with similar compositions:

These retain the useful PTFE properties of low friction and nonreactivity, but are more easily formable. For example, FEP is softer than PTFE and melts at 533 K (260 °C; 500 °F); it is also highly transparent and resistant to sunlight.[55]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (CHEBI:53251)". ebi.ac.uk. Retrieved July 12, 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Teflon ™| Chemours Teflon™ Nonstick Coatings and Additives". www.chemours.com. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  3. ↑ "DuPont - DuPont Completes Spin-off of The Chemours Company". investors.dupont.com. Retrieved 2016-03-01.
  4. ↑ US 2230654, Plunkett, Roy J, "Tetrafluoroethylene polymers", issued 4 February 1941
  5. ↑ "History Timeline 1930: The Fluorocarbon Boom". DuPont. Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  6. ↑ "Roy Plunkett: 1938". Retrieved 10 June 2009.
  7. ↑ American Heritage of Invention & Technology, Fall 2010, vol. 25, no. 3, p. 42
  8. ↑ Rhodes, Richard (1986). The Making of the Atomic Bomb. New York, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 494. ISBN 0-671-65719-4. Retrieved 31 October 2010.
  9. ↑ "Teflon History ", home.nycap.rr.com, Retrieved 25 January 2009.
  10. ↑ Robbins, William (21 December 1986) "Teflon Maker: Out Of Frying Pan Into Fame ", New York Times, Retrieved 21 December 1986 (Subscription)
  11. ↑ Swiss Diamond Technology Swiss Diamond International
  12. ↑ About SCANPAN SCANPAN
  13. ↑ FAQ's "Is Nonstick Safe," All-Clad FAQ
  14. ↑ FAQ's "Does your cookware contain Teflon®?" Calphalon FAQ
  15. ↑ Knowledge Base Analon
  16. ↑ Sun, J.Z.; et al. (1994). "Modification of polytetrafluoroethylene by radiation—1. Improvement in high temperature properties and radiation stability". Radiat. Phys. Chem. 44 (6): 655–679. doi:10.1016/0969-806X(94)90226-7.
  17. ↑ Electron Beam Processing of PTFE E-BEAM Services website. Accessed May 21, 2013
  18. ↑ Carlson, D. Peter and Schmiegel, Walter (2000) "Fluoropolymers, Organic" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a11_393
  19. 1 2 Fluoropolymer Comparison – Typical Properties Retrieved 10 September 2006.
  20. ↑ Teflon PTFE Properties Handbook Retrieved 11 October 2012.
  21. ↑ DuPont Teflon® Coatings. plastechcoatings.com
  22. ↑ Nicholson, John W. (2011). The Chemistry of Polymers (4, Revised ed.). Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 50. ISBN 9781849733915.
  23. ↑ "Reference Tables – Thermal Expansion Coefficients – Plastics". engineershandbook.com.
  24. ↑ Blumm, J.; Lindemann, A.; Meyer, M.; Strasser, C. (2011). "Characterization of PTFE Using Advanced Thermal Analysis Technique". International Journal of Thermophysics. 40 (3–4): 311. Bibcode:2010IJT....31.1919B. doi:10.1007/s10765-008-0512-z.
  25. ↑ "PTFE". Microwaves101.
  26. ↑ Wapler, M. C.; Leupold, J.; Dragonu, I.; von Elverfeldt, D.; Zaitsev, M.; Wallrabe, U. (2014). "Magnetic properties of materials for MR engineering, micro-MR and beyond". JMR. 242: 233–242. doi:10.1016/j.jmr.2014.02.005.
  27. ↑ Coefficient of Friction (COF) Testing of Plastics MatWeb Material Property Data Retrieved 1 January 2007.
  28. ↑ "Research into Gecko Adhesion ", Berkeley, 2007-10-14, Retrieved 8 April 2010.
  29. ↑ Davet, George P. "Using Belleville Springs To Maintain Bolt Preload" (PDF). Solon Mfg. Co. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
  30. 1 2 Zapp JA, Limperos G, Brinker KC (26 April 1955). "Toxicity of pyrolysis products of 'Teflon' tetrafluoroethylene resin". Proceedings of the American Industrial Hygiene Association Annual Meeting.
  31. ↑ "Unraveling Polymers: PTFE". Poly Fouoro Ltd. April 26, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2017.
  32. 1 2 3 Mishra, Munmaya; Yagci, Yusuf (208). Handbook of Vinyl Polymers: Radical Polymerization, Process, and Technology, Second Edition (2nd, illustrated, revised ed.). CRC Press. p. 574. ISBN 978-0-8247-2595-2. Extract of page 574
  33. ↑ Mishra & Yagci, p 573
  34. ↑ Fers à repasser semelle teflon - Fiche pratique - Le Parisien. Pratique.leparisien.fr. Retrieved on 2016-11-17.
  35. ↑ "A Motorcyclist's Guide To Gore-Tex". Infinity Motorcycles.
  36. ↑ "Advantages and Disadvantages of Teflon-coated Covert Cloth". The Cutter and Tailor.
  37. ↑ "Film Interface Patch". American Academy of Orthotists & Prosthetists.
  38. ↑ Wang X, Khan R, Coleman A (2015). "Device-modified trabeculectomy for glaucoma". Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 12: CD010472. PMID 26625212. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010472.pub2.
  39. ↑ Koch, E.-C. (2002). "Metal-Fluorocarbon Pyrolants:III. Development and Application of Magnesium/Teflon/Viton". Propellants, Explosives, Pyrotechnics. 27 (5): 262–266. doi:10.1002/1521-4087(200211)27:5<262::AID-PREP262>3.0.CO;2-8.
  40. ↑ "Lubicle 1". TheCubicle.us. Retrieved 2017-05-20.
  41. ↑ "Interview with an inventor of the KTW bullet". NRAction newsletter. 4 (5). May 1990.
  42. ↑ Pomeroy, Ross (2013-08-24). "The World's Strongest Acids: Like Fire and Ice". Retrieved 2016-04-09.
  43. ↑ "Industrial Air Permits - New Clean Air Regulations And Baghouses". Baghouse.com.
  44. ↑ Dennis E. Brown, DDS. "Using Plumber's Teflon Tape to Enhance Bonding Procedures". Dentistry Today.
  45. ↑ Dunn, WJ; et al. "Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tape as a matrix in operative dentistry.". Operative Dentistry. 29: 470–2. PMID 15279489.
  46. ↑ Rosenthal, Ed (October 21, 2014). Beyond Buds (Revised ed.). Quick American Archives. ISBN 1936807238.
  47. ↑ "Polytetrafluouroethylene: PTFE Sheets & PTFE Coatings from Porex". www.porex.com. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
  48. ↑ "Key Safety Questions About Teflon Nonstick Coatings". DuPont. Retrieved 28 November 2014.
  49. ↑ "Key Safety Questions about the Safety of Nonstick Cookware". DuPont.
  50. ↑ RIch, Nathaniel. "The Lawyer Who Became Dupont's Worst Nightmare". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  51. ↑ Blake, Mariah. "Welcome to Beautiful Parkersburg, West Virginia Home to one of the most brazen, deadly corporate gambits in U.S. history.". Huffington Post. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  52. ↑ Nicole, W. (2013). "PFOA and Cancer in a Highly Exposed Community: New Findings from the C8 Science Panel". Environmental Health Perspectives. 121 (11–12): A340. PMC 3855507 Freely accessible. PMID 24284021. doi:10.1289/ehp.121-A340.
  53. ↑ Trudel D, Horowitz L, Wormuth M, Scheringer M, Cousins IT, Hungerbühler K (April 2008). "Estimating consumer exposure to PFOS and PFOA". Risk Anal. 28 (2): 251–69. PMID 18419647. doi:10.1111/j.1539-6924.2008.01017.x.
  54. ↑ "Nonstick pans: Nonstick coating risks". Consumer Reports. Retrieved 4 July 2009.
  55. ↑ FEP Detailed Properties, Parker-TexLoc, 13 April 2006. Retrieved 10 September 2006.

Further reading


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