Saving us from soak , genuflect and scrubbing , Teflon has been a lifesaver ( or at least a hired hand - rescuer ) for base cooks for the last 50 year . But how do they get it to stick to the genus Pan in the first lieu ?
incorporate of a alone polymer that actually repel nearly every other textile ( the only known thing a gecko ’s ft ca n’t lodge to ) , the mental process used to get this substance to stick so well to a pan relies on sand , heat , a vacuity and sometimes even another chemical .
For the uninitiated , as mark antecedently , Teflon was create by stroke in 1938 in Dupont ’s Jackson Lab . Dr. Roy J. Plunkett had been playing around with refrigerant and compact and freeze a sample of tetrafluoroethylene which spontaneously polymerized . The waxy result of that experiment was Teflon ( PTFE ) . Inert and , for a long meter , “ moot the most slippery material in existence , ” PTFE became know as Teflon in 1945 .
The trouble with Teflon is that PTFE is a fluorinated polymer – a retentive range of monovular mote . The mote are be of carbon and fluorine , enmeshed in one of the most sinewy bonds hump , with the carbon copy atoms surrounded by a “ close helix of fluorine molecule . ” Along with this super - tight trammel , fluorine also by nature beat back other chemical element , and together , these two belongings keep things from sticking to Teflon .
Because repugnance chance in all directions , it would be out of the question to get Teflon to stick to a pan without supporter , and there are a few different ways this is done .
One method , said to be used for Dupont ’s Silverstone marque , commence by sandblasting the pan , creating an spotty airfoil that encourages adhesiveness . A undercoat level of Teflon is spray on , then baked at high-pitched heat that helps the Teflon get “ a secure mechanical grip . ” observe that this is a mechanically skillful , and not chemical , adherence that some have qualify as similar to the way ice rink cubes get stuck in a trayor Velcro binds together . Depending on whom you ask about Dupont ’s process , the initial sticking is abide by by one or two more rounds of spraying and baking before the cooking pan is consider finished .
A 2nd method acting also bakes the Teflon onto the genus Pan ( called “ sinter ” ) , but first involves subjecting it to a shelling of ion in a “ high void under electric field . ” This force some of the bonds hold atomic number 9 atoms to break , appropriate the carbon underneath to attach to other stuff , like atomic number 8 , which allows it to stick to the pan .
The third method acting is like to the 2d , except that the changes to one side of the Teflon are done with a shrink agent that breaks the substantial bonds between the fluorine and the carbon allowing the fluorine to bond together . This give the atomic number 6 free . The free carbon paper , which form into unsaturated hydrocarbons , is gluey enough to get the Teflon sheet to stick to a pan .
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Bonus Facts :
Although Teflon does not cause cancer , one of the chemical substance used in making it , Perfluorooctanoic acid ( PFOA ) , has been show in laboratory studies to increase the risk of testicular , pancreatic and liver tumors in animal . In subject area of humans , it has been shew that people who are expose to PFOA in the work also have a greater endangerment of developing kidney , testicular and bladder cancers .
The Environmental Working Group warns that PTFE - coated pans publish toxic exhaust at mellow temperatures ( over 350 - 400 degree Fahrenheit ) that cause some hoi polloi to develop influenza - like symptoms . If you ca n’t ditch your non - stick cooking pan , they advocate not preheating it , always using the exhaust fumes buff and never putting a non - stick pan in an oven over 500 F.
The symptom of Teflon , or polymer , fume fever come out within a few 60 minutes of exposure and mimic those of viral flu ( such as chill , headache and fever ) . When the fume are stimulate by exposure for a longer meter , or are generated by higher temperature , even pulmonary symptom like chest tightness and cough may be seen . Notably , these fumes have been chance to be calamitous to birds , as their method of breathing allows even more toxin to get into their bodies .
All that said , because PTFE is inert , take in flakes from your Teflon pan should have no ill - effects .
range byJuho Mattilaunder Creative Commons license .
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