Exactly what is Teflon?
Teflon is a resin discovered by E.I. Dupont in the late 1930’s, but was not commercially developed until after WWII. It is now extruded or molded by its licensees. Teflon is a trade name for several different kinds of flouroplastics, all of them having in common extreme chemical resistance as well as a higher heat range than other plastics. In addition Teflon does not seem to decompose the way other plastics and synthetic rubbers do, no shelf life has yet been determined for Teflon. Some Teflon items have been in service for over 30 years without any signs of deterioration. A few of the most common formulations are PTFE a.k.a. polytetrafluoroethylene, PFA a.k.a. perfluoroalkoxyl and FEP a.k.a. Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene.
