February 20, 2019

What’s the Difference Between Teflon™ and PTFE

The simple answer is that they are the same thing: Teflon™ is a brand name for PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) and is a trademark brand name used by the Du Pont company and its subsidiary companies (Kinetic which first registered the trademark & Chemours which currently owns it).

In the same way as you can buy a brand name cereal in the supermarket (like Kellogg’s Cornflakes) or one without the brand name &, likewise, you can buy a brand-name medicine or, once the patent expires, you can buy a ‘generic’ medicine which is the same, so you can use Teflon™ and PTFE interchangeably.

Names like Teflon™ help to make products into household names & help to distinguish them in the marketplace.

What is Teflon™/PTFE?

PTFE is a fluoropolymer with a number of properties that make it extremely useful. These include:

Extremely low friction (this is why Teflon™ is marketed as being non-stick)
High melting point – this is why Teflon™ can be applied to the inside of frying pans
Good temperature resistance – PTFE can perform at higher and lower temperatures
Inert – it dies not react with a large number of corrosive and hazardous substances meaning that it can be used in a wide variety of industrial applications.

Most of these properties are due to the carbon – fluorine bonds in PTFE. Unlike carbon – hydrogen bonds in many other polymers, carbon – fluorine bond is stronger and highly polarized.

The Difference: Marketing

The main difference between Teflon™ and PTFE is that Teflon™ will be more expensive and that you will have to apply for a license if you want to use the Teflon™ trademark. This is because a lot of time and energy has been spent building the Teflon™ name over the last 75 years and it is a well-known shorthand for products that have high performance and durability.

You can apply for that licence here.

PTFE and Teflon™ are used extensively within Holscot Ltd, it is an extremely robust material and one that we have a great depth of experience handling. Please do contact us if you have industrial problems where fluoropolymers might be the solution.

What is PTFE? Pros and Cons of PTFE coating?
PTFE 101
FEP material – Meaning Benefits and Applications
What is PFA tubing