forms after application, which allows it to resist collecting particles that might otherwise form an abrasive paste. brands include gt85. two ptfe jars kitchen ware ptfe is best known for its use in coating non-stick frying pans and other cookware, as it is hydrophobic and possesses fairly high heat resistance. the sole plates of some clothes irons are coated with ptfe. others ptfe tapes with pressure-sensitive adhesive backingother niche applications include: it is often found in ski bindings as a non-mechanical afd (anti-friction device) it can be stretched to contain small pores of varying sizes and is then placed between fabric layers to make a waterproof, breathable fabric in outdoor apparel. it is used widely as a fabric protector to repel stains on formal school-wear, like uniform blazers. it is frequently used as a lubricant to prevent captive insects and other arthropods from escaping. it is used as a coating for medical and healthcare applications formulated to provide strength and heat resistance to surgical devices and other medical equipment. it is used as a film interface patch for sports and medical applications, featuring a pressure-sensitive adhesive backing, which is installed in strategic high friction areas of footwear, insoles, ankle-foot orthosis, and other medical devices to prevent and relieve friction-induced blisters, calluses and foot ulceration. expanded ptfe membranes have been used in trials to assist trabeculectomy surgery to treat glaucoma. powdered ptfe is used in pyrotechnic compositions as an oxidizer with powdered metals such as aluminium and magnesium. upon ignition, these mixtures form carbonaceous soot and the corresponding metal fluoride, and release large amounts of heat. they are used in infrared decoy flares and as igniters for solid-fuel rocket propellants. aluminium and ptfe is also used in some thermobaric fuel compositions. powdered ptfe is used in a suspension with a low-viscosity, azeotropic mixture of siloxane ethers to create a lubricant for use in twisty puzzles. in optical radiometry, sheets of ptfe are used as measuring heads in spectroradiometers and broadband radiometers (e.g., illuminance meters and uv radiometers) due to ptfe's capability to diffuse a transmitting light nearly perfectly. moreover, optical properties of ptfe stay constant over a wide range of wavelengths, from uv down to near infrared. in this region, the ratio of its regular transmittance to diffuse transmittance is negligibly small, so light transmitted through a diffuser (ptfe sheet) radiates like lambert's cosine law. thus ptfe enables cosinusoidal angular response for a detector measuring the power of optical radiation at a surface, e.g. in solar irradiance measurements. teflon-coated bullets are coated with ptfe to reduce wear on the rifling of firearms that uncoated projectiles would cause. ptfe itself does not give a projectile an armor-piercing property. its high corrosion resistance makes ptfe useful in laboratory environments, where it is used for lining containers, as a coating for magnetic stirrers, and as tubing for highly corrosive chemicals such as hydrofluoric acid, which will dissolve glass containers. it is used in containers for storing fluoroantimonic acid, a superacid. ptfe tubes are used in gas-gas heat exchangers in gas cleaning of waste incinerators. unit power capacity is typically several megawatts. ptfe is widely used as a thread seal tape in plumbing applications, largely replacing paste thread dope. ptfe membrane filters are among the most efficient industrial air filters. ptfe-coated filters are often used in dust collection systems to collect particulate matter from air streams in applications involving high temperatures and high particulate loads such as coal-fired power plants, cement production and steel foundries. ptfe grafts can be used to bypass stenotic arteries in peripheral vascular disease if a suitable autologous vein graft is not available. many bicycle lubricants and greases contain ptfe and are used on chains and other moving parts subjected to frictional forces (such as hub bearings). ptfe is used for some types of dental floss. ptfe can also be used when placing dental fillings, to isolate the contacts of the adjacent tooth so the restorative materials will not stick to the adjacent tooth. ptfe sheets are used in the production of butane hash oil due to its non-stick properties and resistance to non-polar solvents. ptfe, associated with a slightly textured laminate, makes the plain bearing system of a dobsonian telescope. ptfe is widely used as a non-stick coating for food processing equipment; dough hoppers, mixing bowls, conveyor systems, rollers, and chutes. ptfe can also be reinforced where abrasion is present – for equipment processing seeded or grainy dough for example. ptfe has been experimented with for electroless nickel plating. ptfe tubing is used for bowden tubing in 3d printers because its low friction allows the extruder stepper motor to push filament through it more easily. ptfe is commonly used in aftermarket add-on mouse feet for gaming mice to reduce friction of the mouse against the mouse pad, resulting in a smoother glide. ptfe foils are commonly used with laserprinters everywhere, in their fuser unit, wrapped around the heater element(s) and as well on the opposite pressure roller to prevent any kind of sticking to it (neither the printed paper nor toner waste) ptfe is also used to make body jewellery as it's much safer to wear compared to materials like acrylic, that release toxics into the body at 26.6°c, unlike ptfe at 650–700°c. ptfe is used to make bookbinding tools for folding, scoring and separating sheets of paper. these are typically referred to as teflon bone folders. safety while ptfe is stable and nontoxic at lower temperatures, it begins to deteriorate at temperatures of about 260 °c (500 °f), it decomposes above 350 °c (662 °f), and pyrolysis occurs at temperatures above 400 °c (752 °f). the main decomposition products are fluorocarbon gases and a sublimate, including tetrafluoroethylene (tfe) and difluorocarbene radicals (rcf2). an animal study conducted in 1955 concluded that it is unlikely that these products would be generated in amounts significant to health at temperatures below 250 °c (482 °f). above those temperatures the degradation by-products can be lethal to birds, and can cause flu-like symptoms in humans (polymer fume fever), although in humans those symptoms disappear within a day or two of being moved to fresh air. most cases of polymer fume fever in humans occur due to smoking ptfe-contaminated tobacco, although cases have occurred in people who have welded near ptfe components or heated ptfe-coated cookware at 390 °c (734 °f) for at least 4 hours. ptfe-coated cookware is unlikely to reach dangerous temperatures with normal use, as meat is usually fried between 204 and 232 °c (399 and 450 °f), and most cooking oils (except refined safflower and avocado oils) start to smoke before a temperature of 260 °c (500 °f) is reached. a 1973 study by dupont's haskell laboratory found that a 4-hour exposure to the fumes emitted by ptfe cookware heated to 280 °c (536 °f) was lethal for parakeets, although that was a higher temperature than the 260 °c (500 °f) required for fumes from pyrolyzed butter to be lethal to the birds. perfluorooctanoic acid (pfoa), a chemical formerly used in the manufacture of ptfe products such as non-stick coated cookware, can be carcinogenic for people who are exposed to it (see ecotoxicity). concerning levels of pfoa have been found in the blood of people who work in or live near factories where the chemical is used, and in people regularly exposed to pfoa-containing products such as some ski waxes and stain-resistant fabric coatings, but non-stick cookware was not found to be a major source of exposure, as the pfoa is burned off during the manufacturing process and not present in the finished product. non-stick coated cookware has not been manufactured using pfoa since 2013, and pfoa is no longer being made in the united states. ecotoxicity trifluoroacetate sodium trifluoroacetate and the similar compound chlorodifluoroacetate can both be generated when ptfe undergoes thermolysis, as well as producing longer chain polyfluoro- and/or polychlorofluoro- (c3-c14) carboxylic acids which may be equally persistent. these products can accumulate in evaporative wetlands and have been found in the roots and seeds of wetland plant species, but has not been observed to have an adverse impact on plant health or germination success. pfoa main article: perfluorooctanoic acid perfluorooctanoic acid (pfoa, or c8) has been used as a surfactant in the emulsion polymerization of ptfe, although several manufacturers have entirely discontinued its use. pfoa persists indefinitely in the environment. pfoa has been detected in the blood of many individuals of the general us population in the low and sub-parts per billion range, and levels are higher in chemical plant employees and surrounding subpopulations. pfoa and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (pfos) have been estimated to be in every american person’s blood stream in the parts per billion range, though those concentrations have decreased by 70% for pfoa and 84% for pfos between 1999 and 2014, which coincides with the end of the production and phase out of pfoa and pfos in the us. the general population has been exposed to pfoa through massive dumping of c8 waste into the ocean and near the ohio river valley. pfoa has been detected in industrial waste, stain-resistant carpets, carpet cleaning liquids, house dust, microwave popcorn bags, water, food and ptfe cookware. as a result of a class-action lawsuit and community settlement with dupont, three epidemiologists conducted studies on the population surrounding a chemical plant that was exposed to pfoa at levels greater than in the general population. the studies concluded that there was an association between pfoa exposure and six health outcomes: kidney cancer, testicular cancer, ulcerative colitis, thyroid disease, hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol), and pregnancy-induced hypertension. overall, ptfe cookware is considered a minor exposure pathway to pfoa. genx as a result of the lawsuits concerning the pfoa class-action lawsuit, dupont began to use genx, a similarly fluorinated compound, as a replacement for perfluorooctanoic acid in the manufacture of fluoropolymers, such as teflon-brand ptfe. however, in lab tests on rats, genx has been shown to cause many of the same health problems as pfoa. the chemicals are manufactured by chemours, a corporate spin-off of dupont, in fayetteville, north carolina. while pfoa was phased out by 2014, chemours was already found to be dumping genx into the cape fear river in 2017, with the north carolina department of environmental quality (ncdeq) ordering chemours to halt discharges of all fluorinated compounds on september 5, 2017. similar polymers teflon is also used as the trade name for a polymer with similar properties, perfluoroalkoxy polymer resin (pfa). the teflon trade name is also used for other polymers with similar compositions: perfluoroalkoxy alkane (pfa) fluorinated ethylene propylene (fep) these retain the useful ptfe properties of low friction and nonreactivity, but are also more easily formable. for example, fep is softer than ptfe and melts at 533 k (260 °c; 500 °f); it is also highly transparent and resistant to sunlight.