United States.
Researchers at the University of Arkansas will receive a $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to further their study of a new approach that significantly improves the wear resistance of polytetrafluoroethylene coatings.
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is best known by its trademark name: Teflon.
The fund will support the work of Zou and Jingyi Chen, assistant professors of chemistry at the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. Zou and Chen are investigating a new approach to improving the wear resistance of PTFE coatings by incorporating polydopamine as an under-layer adhesive. As part of the same project, to increase adhesiveness, the researchers are also studying the integration of polydopamine-coated nanostructures into both the under-layer material and the PTFE coating.
The new approach will allow for thin, wear-resistant PTFE coatings to be deposited on any substrate material without changing the topography of the underlined surface. Achieving this could encourage the realization of a wide range of properties – such as self-cleaning, anti-fog, anti-ice, anti-corrosion and others – that depend on surface topography and chemistry for proper function.
PTFE is used not only in cookware, but also in various applications such as energy, aerospace, automotive, biomedical industries, oil and natural gas, and healthcare.
Data Source Provider: University of Arkansas
