Teflon: Chemistry's Revolutionary, Yet Overlooked Marvel

It's hard to imagine life without non-stick cookware! This convenience is mainly due to the discovery and application of Teflon, a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) with high heat resistance and slick surface properties. Ironically, this polymer was discovered entirely by accident in 1938 by Roy J. Plunkett (1910–1994), a chemist working for DuPont. When he stumbled upon this unique material, Plunkett was trying to develop new refrigerants. He stored around 100 pounds of tetrafluoroethylene gas in small cylinders, expecting it to be available for his experiments the next day. To his surprise, the gas had disappeared overnight, but the cylinder’s weight remained unchanged. Upon cutting open the container, he discovered that the tetrafluoroethylene had polymerized into an unfamiliar white waxy solid – PTFE or Teflon. Teflon's remarkable characteristics were not immediately recognized. It took almost two decades before its most renowned non-stick cookware application was introduced in 1954 under the brand name 'T-Fal.' Due to its resilient properties, the product revolutionized American kitchens and subsequently found varied uses across industries from electronics to aeronautics and medicine. Teflon also played an unsung role in achieving one of humankind's most outstanding achievements—the Apollo Moon Landing Mission in 1969. It was used as insulation material for spacesuits, affording astronauts greater mobility while protecting them from lunar temperatures ranging from extremely hot to incredibly cold. Thus, Teflon’s journey from an accidental discovery in a Delaware lab to becoming an integral part of modern life is truly fascinating. The scientific community attributes this revolutionary development to Plunkett's serendipitous discovery and persistence in unlocking its true potential.