Finding Really Slick Stuff: Teflon

Roy Plunkett, a DuPont chemist, discovered Teflon in 1938. He was working on the synthesis of new refrigerants. He had a full tank of tetrafluoroethylene gas delivered to his lab, but when he opened the valve, nothing came out. He wondered what had happened, so he cut the tank open. He found a white substance that was very slick and nonreactive. The gas had polymerized into the substance now called Teflon. It was used during World War II to make gaskets and valves for the atomic bomb processing plant. After the war, Teflon finally made its way into the kitchen as a nonstick coating for frying pans.