PTFE in 1969: Gore-Tex ePTFE

Plunkett’s slippery fluoropolymer — non-stick, chemical linings and a high-temp plastic that still has a fire-and-fume story. PTFE is one of 32 materials in this atlas, grouped under polymers: history, structure, measured properties, process routes, uses, safety and market — not a product catalogue.

Scores compare PTFE with the rest of the atlas on strength, heat, fire behaviour, insulation, workability and circularity. They are editorial, not certificates. Seven chapters follow. Fire and insulation claims name test families (Euroclass, ASTM E84, ISO 5660, KS F) rather than inventing a single safety number.

PTFE ((C2F4)n) is a family of grades whose density ~2.2 g/cm³, heat band ~327 °C, and fire letter high OI but pyrolysis fumes. PTFE is sold as grades, not as a single substance. Chemistry (C2F4)n, density ~2.2 g/cm³, heat band ~327 °C. This atlas treats PTFE as a system: mill route, coatings, tests and the cavity it sits in.