Teflon

Trademark for a polymer of tetrafluoroethylene fluorocarbon (polytetrafluoroethylene [PTFE]). Teflon is a tough, waxy, nonflammable organic compound with a slippery surface, attacked by very few chemicals and stable over a wide temperature range. Its qualities make it useful in gaskets, bearings, container and pipe linings, electrical insulation, parts for valves and pumps used for corrosive fluids, and protective nonstick coatings on cooking utensils, saw blades, and other articles. A closely related fluorocarbon polymer, fluorinated ethylene-propylene (FEP), has properties and applications similar to those of Teflon.