General Properties of Fluoropolymers
What is Fluoropolymer (Teflon®)?
Fluoropolymers are carbon based polymers and have multiple strong carbon-fluorine bonds. High resistance to solvents, acids and bases is their characteristics. The following chart shows durability and cost figures of fluoropolymers vs. the other commonly used organic finishes.
| Material | Durability | Relative Cost | Characteristics |
| (Scale of 1-10) | (Scale of 1-10) | ||
| Nitrocellulose lacquers | 1 | 2 | Fast drying, low durability |
| Epoxy esters | 1 | 2 | Good chemical resistance |
| Alkyd-amine | 2 | 1 | Versatile, low adhesion |
| Acrylic lacquers | 4 | 1.7 | Good color retention, low adhesion |
| Acrylic enamels | 4 | 1.3 | Good color retention, tough, high baking temperature |
| Vinyl solutions | 4 | 2 | Flexible, good chemical resistance, low solids |
| Silicones | 4-7 | 5 | Good gloss retention, low flexibility |
| Fluoropolymers | 10 | 10 | Excellent durability, difficult to apply |
General Properties of Fluoropolymers
Commonly used commercially available fluoropolymers (Teflon®) are; PTFE (Poly tetra-fluoro ethylene), PFA (Perfluoroalkoxy), FEP (Fluorinated ethylene proplylene), ETFE (Ethylene tetra-fluoro ethylene), ECTFE (Ethylene chloro tri-fluoro ethylene), PCTFE (Poly chloro tri-fluoro ethylene) ve PVDF (Poly vinyledene fluoride).
Generally chemical resistance of these materials are verg good compared to other plastics. Although certain properties such as tensile strength, permeability and dielectric strength vary with fabrication conditions, the following properties are relatively unaffected:
- Chemical/Corrosion resistance
- Non-stick
- Non-flammability
- Excellent electrical properties
- Low coefficient of friction
- Thermal stability at high temperatures
- Cryogenic stability
- Enhanced release properties
Characteristics of fluoropolymers are as follows:
| Characteristic | Unit | PTFE | PFA | FEP | ETFE |
| Specific Gravity | g/cm³ | 2,15-2,20 | 2,12-2,17 | 2,14-2,17 | 1,7 |
| Tensile Strenght | N/mm² | 20-40 | 30 | 19-22 | 45 |
| Break Elongation | % | 250-500 | 300 | 250-300 | 100-140 |
| E module (static) | N/mm² | 750 civarı | 600-700 | 600-700 | 800-900 |
| Comressive strength | N/mm² | 12 | - | 15 | 50 |
| Hardness (Shore D) | - | 50-60 | 60-62 | 60-65 | 75 |
| Crystalline Melting Temperature | °C | 327 | app. 300 | 270-280 | 270-280 |
| Upper Application Temeperature | °C | app. 260 | app. 260 | app. 200 | app. 150 |
| Specific Volume Resistance | Ω/m | app. 1016 | app. 1016 | app. 1016 | app. 1016 |
| Disruptive Strength (0,2 mm) | kV/mm | 50-80 | - | 50-80 | 50-80 |
| Relative Permittivity | - | 2,1 | 2,1 | 2,1 | 2,6 |