Non-stick surface

A non-stick surface is a surface engineered to reduce the ability of other materials to stick to it. Non-stick cookware is a common application, where the non-stick coating allows food to brown without sticking to the pan. Non-stick is often used to refer to surfaces coated with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a well-known brand of which is "Teflon." In the twenty-first century other coatings have been marketed as non-stick, such as anodized aluminium, ceramics, silicone, enameled cast iron, and seasoned cookware.

The Mycenaean Greeks might have used non-stick pans to make bread more than 3,000 years ago. Mycenaean ceramic griddles had one smooth side and one side covered with tiny holes. The bread was probably placed on the side with the holes, since the dough tended to stick when cooked on the smooth side of the pan. The holes seemed to be an ancient non-sticking technology, ensuring that oil spread evenly over the griddle.

The modern non-stick pans were made using a coating of Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE). PTFE was invented serendipitously by Roy Plunkett in 1938, while working for a joint venture of the DuPont company. The substance was found to have several unique properties, including very good corrosion-resistance and the lowest coefficient of friction of any substance yet manufactured. PTFE was first used to make seals resistant to the uranium hexafluoride gas used in development of the atomic bomb during World War II, and was regarded as a military secret. Dupont registered the Teflon trademark in 1944 and soon began planning for post-war commercial use of the new product.

By 1951 Dupont had developed applications for Teflon in commercial bread and cookie-making; however the company avoided the market for consumer cookware due to potential problems associated with release of toxic gases if stove-top pans were overheated in inadequately ventilated spaces. While working at DuPont, NYU Tandon School of Engineering alumnus John Gilbert was asked to evaluate a newly- developed material called Teflon. His experiments using the fluorinated polymer as a surface coating for pots and pans helped usher in a revolution in non-stick cookware.

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