What is teflon used for nowadays in daily life?

Through this post, you will have a general understanding of what is teflon used for nowadays in daily life. This post will explain in detail different aspects giving out information about and around Teflon, including what Teflon is, how is constructed, what features it has, and what is teflon used for. If you are interested in this specific component and its usage, let’s have a look together.

What is Teflon?

Teflon is 3 kinds of products trademarked by the Chemours company for the chemical compound, polytetrafluoroethylene (together with other fluoropolymers). Respectively they are Teflon AF, Teflon FEP, and Teflon tape. Teflon is a spin-off from DuPont, a company that invented this compound back in 1938. Therefore, if we need to know what Teflon is, we have to get a general idea of what polytetrafluoroethylene is.

Polytetrafluoroethylene, short for PTFE, is a fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene, and it is synthetic. To expand, tetrafluoroethylene, short for TFE, is a fluorocarbon chemical compound that has a formula that is C2F4, it is majorly used for producing fluoropolymers. Meanwhile, fluoropolymer is a kind of polymer that is fluorocarbon-based, which has multiple carbon-fluorine bonds, and polytetrafluoroethylene is one kind of this compound and the most well-known one. Just to further expand, polytertrafluroethylenene is the per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (which is short for PFAS or PFASs) with a great number of applications. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are a group of organofluorine chemical compounds. They have multiple fluorine atoms attached to an alkyl chain, it would be like –CnF2n+1–, and there must be a perfluorinated methyl group (-CF3) or a perfluorinated methylene group (-CF2-) at the end.

Features of Teflon

To understand what is used for, we have to know some of its features. Polytetrafluoroethylene’s formula is (C2F4)n, It is short for PTFE, with a density of 2200 kg/m3, and will melt at the point of 327°C, which is very high. Just like what it is made of, tetrafluoroethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene has a very strong resistance, to both electricity and heat. The thermal conductivity Is 0.25 W/(m·K), while the electricity of it is 10 18 Ω·cm. Polytetrafluoroethylene is also UV transparent, but a laser beam will harm it severely due to the photo-thermal effect.

Application for Polytetrafluoroethylene

Having a general idea of what polytetrafluoroethylene is, we can get into what is teflon is used for. 

The major use for polytetrafluoroethylene is the insulation of those non-sticking frying pans. Its highly resistant feature was accidentally discovered by Roy J. Plunkett in the company DuPont, which is why it was registered by the company so early on by the name Teflon. And that is what is Teflon used for. Registered in 1941, it was mass-produced in 1948, and the first US-produced PTFE-coated non-sticking pan was created in 1961.

Another common use for polytetrafluoroethylene is in cosmetics. Since PTFE is very stable, it could be mostly found as a fluoridated compound in cosmetics like anti-aging products. PTFE generates PFOA as well, which is also an ingredient mostly found in cosmetics. Products including foundation, powder, blue, eye shadow mascara, blush, bronzer, etc. could have fluoridated compounds like PTFE or PFOA in them. However, PFOA seems could cause cancer or reproductive toxicity endocrine disruption, and other environmental concerns.

Harmful effects on the environment

Due to its high resistance and persistence features, Teflon might be harmful to the environment as it is not easily dissolved. It is found everywhere accumulated in the wetlands and waters. However, there seems to be no adverse impact on the health of plant species or germination so far, this could be a good side, just to be observed in the future.

Conclusion:

Regarding the topic “What is Teflon used for nowadays in daily life”, it could be concluded that it is most commonly used as the insulation of non-sticking frying pans, while as its highly persistent feature, it could be also found in the cosmetic ingredients. We’ve gone through what Teflon is, how it got such a name and its features, we could have a general knowledge of the chemical compound “Teflon” and what is teflon used for.