Teflon 1938
Dr. Roy Plunkett was born in 1910 in Ohio. After receiving a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from Ohio State University he was hired by E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. He was sent to their Jackson Laboratory in Deepwater, New Jersey. He was then put to work to find a new form of refrigerant that would be a non-toxic alternative to sulfur dioxide and ammonia.
In 1938, Dr. Plunkett was working with his assistant Jack Rebok on a synthetic compound that they hoped would be the answer they were looking for. They created 100 pounds of tetrafluorethylene (TFE) and placed the gas in small cylinders to store them for further testing. It was on April 6th, that they opened the valve on one of these pressurized cylinders that had been frozen. However, they were shocked when none of the gas came out. They were further surprised that the weight of the of the container was the same as if it were still filled with gas. So as curious scientists they investigated further by cutting open the cylinder.
Once they looked at the now open cylinder they were surprised to find the that the gas has polymerized into a white powder which they called polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) resin.
The pair started running tests on their new substance and found that it was very slippery, was non-corrosive and had a very high melting point. It was also chemically stable. The Dupont company found that it was interesting enough to continue development and three years later Teflon was patented and trademarked. It was first sold four years later mostly to the military and industrial operations. By the 1960s there were several different kinds of Teflon that were being used in everything from stain repellent fabrics to electrical wire insulation. It was also in the 60s that Teflon started to be used as non-stick coating for cookware, for which it is best known.