About Fluoroplastic
Since establishment in 1963, Chukoh Chemical Industries, LTD. has worked extensively in the field of R&D, focusing on fluoroplastics with characteristics unlike any others.
The company’s diverse range of products ranges from roof coatings, fabrics, adhesive tapes, substrates and molded articles. Please feel free to inquire about products and processing techniques.
Fluoroplastics are the generic term for a plastic raw materials that contains fluorine atoms.
It comes in nine different products, including mainstay forms like polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and perfluoroalkoxy alkane (PFA). It is a plastic as well as having superb properties of heat resistance, smoothness (slipperiness), non-stick, chemical resistance, low friction and excellent electrical insulation (non-conductance).
These properties are put to good use use across a wide range of industries, such as transport applications and product applications like food processing, chemicals, semiconductors, liquid crystals, scientific equipment, aircraft and aerospace and, as such, fluoroplastics are a key component to modern industries.
What is Teflon™?
Teflon™ is the Registered trademark name for fluoroplastics made by The Chemours Company.
Back in 1938, at DuPont USA, Dr. Roy Plunkett and his team discovered Teflon™.
Dr. Plunkett was researching a new refrigerant, and, as such, had stored some tetrafluoroethylene (TFE) gas in an experimental pressurized container. And, one day, when he opened the lid of the container, no gas came out; so, he cut the container in half to examine things more closely, and found that the interior walls were covered in a white powder – he had discovered PTFE.
The experiment notebook used by Dr. Plunkett then is preserved to this very day at DuPont.
During the Second World War, PTFE was used for military equipment, but in 1945 DuPont registered PTFE with the trade name Teflon™ and in 1946 production and marketing of Teflon™ goods for consumer usage began.
With this the usage of Teflon™ in many industries became a possibility.
In 2015, The Chemours Company (Chemours) spun-off from DuPont and itslaunch as an independent, publicly traded corporation.
Note that in 2015 control of the Teflon™ trademark was transferred from DuPont to Chemours™.
Chukoh Chemical Industries Ltd. has concluded a license agreement of Teflon™ trademark with them Chemours for a fluoroplastic adhesive tapes since July, 2017.
Teflon™ is a trademark of The Chemours Company FC, LLC used under license by Chukoh Chemical industries,LTD.The History of Fluororesins
| Year | Manufacturing Company | Events |
|---|---|---|
| 1937 | L.G.Farben | Discovers PCTFE |
| 1938 | DuPont | Discovers PTFE |
| 1940 | DuPont | Industrializes PTFE |
| 1948 | DuPont | Discovers PVDF |
| 1950 | DuPont | Starts serious production of PVDF |
| 1954 | Daikin Industries, Ltd. | Industrializes PCTFE |
| 1955 | Daikin Industries, Ltd. | Industrializes PTFE |
| 1957 | 3M Company | Acquires PCTFE manufacturing right |
| 1959 | DuPont-Nittou Chemical Industries,Ltd. | Starts manufacturing PTFE |
| 1962 | Daikin Industries, Ltd. | Industrializes FEP |
| 1965 | Penwalt | Starts manufacturing PVDF |
| 1970 | KUREHA CORPORATION | Industrializes PVDF |
| 1972 | DuPont | Industrializes ETFE |
| DuPont | Industrializes PFA | |
| Asahi Glass Co.,Ltd. | Industrializes ETFE | |
| 1976 | Du Pont-Mitsui Fluorochemicals Company, Ltd. | Starts production of PFA |
| 1982 | Daikin Industries, Ltd. | Industrializes PFA |
| 1983 | Asahi Glass Co.,Ltd. | Starts production of PTFE |
| 1986 | Du Pont-Mitsui Fluorochemicals Company, Ltd. | Starts production of FEP |
| 1987 | Asahi Glass Co.,Ltd. | Industrializes PFA |
| 1988 | – | Starts serious production of soft polyfluorocarbon |
| 1989 | Asahi Glass Co.,Ltd. | Expands production of weather-resistant polyfluorocarbon paints |
| 1994 | Du Pont-Mitsui Fluorochemicals Company, Ltd. Daikin Industries, Ltd. | Expands production of modified PTFE |
| 1996 | Du Pont-Mitsui Fluorochemicals Company, Ltd. | Starts serious production of new PFA for semiconductor market |
| 2004 | Asahi Glass Co.,Ltd. | Succeeds in developing recycle technology for polyfluorocarbons |
| 2006 | KUREHA CORPORATION | Expands production of PVDF resin |
PTFE Properties
The molecular structure of PTFE provides this resin with various properties.
| Compositional formula | Steric structure | |
|---|---|---|
| PE |  |  |
| PTFE |  |  |
Property 1Has heat resistance, flame resistance (resistance to oxidation) and weather resistance （resistance to ultraviolet）
Reason: Bonding energy of C-F bond is high
| Bond energy [kJ/mo l] | |
|---|---|
| C-H Bond (For CH₄) | 412（CH₄） |
| C-F Bond (For CF₄) | 484（CF₄） |
Property 2Has non-adhesive (nonstick), water repelling and oil repelling characteristics
Reason: Intermolecular attractive force is small and surface free energy (surface tension) is low
| Type of substance | Angle of contact with water [Angle] | Adhesive energy [dyn/cm] |
|---|---|---|
| PTFE | 114 | 43.1 |
| Silicone | 90 ~ 110 | 47.8 ~ 72.7 |
| PE | 88 | 75.2 |
Property 3Has chemical resistance
Reason: C-C chain is surrounded by compactly arranged fluorine atoms (F)
Property 4Low refractive index and low dielectric constant
Reason: Polarizability of C-F bond is limited
[Remarks]
• C-F: Carbon-Fluorine bond
• CC: Carbon-Carbon bond
• Polarizability: The ease of movement of electrons when in an electric field
[Reference]
• JFIA [Fluorine resin Handbook]
