Application of Teflon in Fabric Protection

Quality of a fabric for clothing depends on a great extent on aesthetic, durability and comfort aspect. While aesthetic & comfort performance is a desirable in clothing, utility is the key requirement in fabric. New technologies are having dramatic effect on textiles, retailers are trying to distinguish their products from others, & to give a value added feature to their fashions by means of technical fibers & finishing. For example, manufacturers are starting to treat their clothing with Teflon fabric protector.



What is Teflon?



Generally, the coating that makes cooking utensils non-sticky is called Teflon. Scientifically, it is trade name for a solid, chemically inert polymer of Tetrafluroethylene (CF2CF2) - It is colorless. Odorless, flouroplastic which has m.w. of 30000, it stable up to 300C .The following properties are typical of PTFE.


PTFE Properties
Value

Tenacity g/d
2

Elongation (%)
25

Limiting Oxygen Index
95

Chemical Resistance
Excellent

Friction coefficient
0.2

Operating Temperature
500

PTFE form
Application

Needle Felt
Hot Gas filtration release fabrics, conveyor belts, mechanical rubber goods.

Wet-laid nonwoven
Gasket Tape Battery, separators, heat shields, liquid filters.

Membrane
Filtration




The Teflon® trademark was registered in 1945. The Teflon flouro polymer family consists of PTFE, (the original resin), FEP, (introduced in 1960), Tefzel® ETFE (introduced in 1970) & PFA (in 1972).