The History of Teflon

Teflon® nonstick coatingWhile known best as a nonstick cookware coating, Teflon® is also used in everything from cars to buildings.

We talk a lot about Teflon® and our amazing and long lasting relationship with DuPont. Yet up to this point, we have told you the fascinating story of how DuPont changed the world when they discovered and introduced the magic that is Teflon®.

The story of the Teflon® brand began on April 6, 1938, at the DuPont Jackson Laboratory in New Jersey.  A DuPont chemist, Dr. Roy J. Plunkett, was working with gases related to the company’s refrigerant products, when he discovered that a frozen, compressed sample of tetrafluoroethylene had polymerized spontaneously into a white, waxy solid to form polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).  Turns out Dr. Plunkett had created the world’s first fluoropolymer, which possessed not only outstanding chemical and heat resistance, but also the world’s most slippery surface qualities.

PTFE was registered under the Teflon® brand trademark in 1944 by DuPont.  Since then, DuPont has developed an expanded range of fluoropolymers that have enabled the production of hundreds of vital products that make life safer, more convenient, more affordable, and more sustainable.

Today people are using DuPont fluoropolymers in critical applications in everything from cars and aircraft to buildings and communications devices.  Still, it is for its use on cookware that the Teflon® brand has become one of the world’s most recognized consumer brands, associated with durability and nonstick performance along with convenient and healthy cooking.

Since 1962, PCM has been lucky enough to be a DuPont Licensed Industrial Applicator (LIA). Therefore, everyone at PCM just wanted to take a moment and tip our hats to Dr. Plunkett and all the amazing people at DuPont for making our lives and the world better.