Terminology

• PTFE: polytetrafluoroethylene
• Teflon: registered trademark, 1945
• PFAS / PFOA: per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances used in processing
• Polymer fume fever: illness from inhaling fumes of decomposing PTFE

History and demand

Invention

• 1938: Roy J. Plunkett found PTFE at DuPont (6 April); patented by Kinetic Chemicals in 1941
• 1945: Teflon registered as a trademark
• 1948: output over 910,000 kg per year at Parkersburg, West Virginia

Sourcing

• China was about half of PTFE consumption in 2025 (S&P Global); Asia-Pacific holds nearly 54 percent of fluoropolymer capacity (market summary)
• In 2018 Chemours (United States) was regarded as the largest fluoropolymer maker, and Shandong Dongyue Group in China ran the world's largest PTFE plant at 45,000 tonnes a year

Demand trend

• Over half of all fluoropolymer production; about 50 percent of PTFE goes to wire insulation

Properties

Physical

• Density: 2,200 kg/m3 (137 lb/ft3)
• Melting point: 327°C (621°F); glass transition about 115°C (239°F)
• Coefficient of friction: 0.05 to 0.10 against polished steel

Mechanical

• Yield strength: 23 MPa (3.3 ksi); Young's modulus 0.5 GPa (73 ksi)

Thermal and moisture

• Thermal expansion: 112 to 125 x 10-6 /K, about 62 to 69 x 10-6 in./in./°F
• Thermal conductivity: 0.25 W/(m·K)
• Deterioration begins near 260°C (500°F); decomposes above 350°C (662°F)

Durability

• Affected only by alkali metals at higher temperatures, aluminum, magnesium, and fluorinating agents

Uses in buildings

Building elements

• Glass-fiber fabric coated with PTFE for tensile membrane roofs; the Metrodome roof used 20 acres (81,000 m2)
• Plain bearings, bushings, gaskets, and slide plates
• Thread seal tape in plumbing, largely replacing paste thread dope

Pros and cons

Pros

• Very low friction, 0.05 to 0.10 against polished steel
• Chemically inert

Cons

• PFAS material; added to the Living Building Challenge Red List in 2016
• Decomposition fumes cause polymer fume fever

Sustainability

Health

• Polymer fume fever: flu-like symptoms that usually resolve within a day or two
• PFOA blood levels fell 70 percent (PFOA) and 84 percent (PFOS) between 1999 and 2014
• GenX contamination found in the Cape Fear River, a drinking water source for 500,000 people

Sources

• Wikipedia: Polytetrafluoroethylene, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polytetrafluoroethylene
• Wikimedia Commons: Seismic isolator for buildings, based on Teflon, exhibited in Nara.jpg, photo by Syced (CC0), https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Seismic_isolator_for_buildings,_based_on_Teflon,_exhibited_in_Nara.jpg
• S&P Global: fluoropolymers Chemical Economics Handbook, November 2025, https://www.spglobal.com/content/dam/spglobal/ci/en/documents/products/pdf/CI_ceh-fluoropolymers-abstract-TOC-november-2025.pdf
• AGC Chemicals Europe: fluoropolymer producers, https://www.agcce.com/?p=8814