A fluoropolymer is a polymer that contains atoms of fluorine. They are characterized by an unusual resistance to solvents, acids, and bases.
Fluoropolymers were discovered serendipitously in 1938 by Dr. Roy J. Plunkett. He was working on freon (for the DuPont corporation) and accidentally polymerized tetrafluoroethylene. The result was PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), more commonly known as Teflon. It turned out to be the most slippery material known to man and inert to virtually all chemicals.
Examples of fluoropolymers:
- PTFE (Teflon)
- PFA
- FEP
- ETFE (Tefzel)
- PVDF (Kynar)
- TFE
- FPM
- CTFE
- FFKM (Kalrez)
- FKM (Viton)
Fluoropolymers may be either thermosets or thermoplastics.