Question

Which of the following is a monomer of Teflon?
(A) Difluoroethane
(B) Trifluoroethane
(C) Tetrafluoroethane
(D) None of these

Answer 1

. Teflon is the derived and most often used name of polytetrafluoroethylene. It is a synthetic fluoropolymer (polymer which contains fluorine). It is a polymer which is used widely in daily lives of human beings.

Complete step by step answer:
Let us study Teflon in detail:
Teflon-
It is known as PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) having a formula ${{\left( {{C}_{2}}{{F}_{4}} \right)}_{n}}$ . It is a thermoplastic polymer manufactured by the process of addition polymerisation of its monomers.
The mechanism includes free radical polymerisation reaction taking place in a stepwise manner i.e. initiation, propagation and termination. The reaction can be stated as;
$n{{F}_{2}}C=C{{F}_{2}}\xrightarrow[Pressure]{Heat}-\left( {{F}_{2}}C-C{{F}_{2}} \right){{-}_{n}}$
Therefore, the monomer used for the synthesis of Teflon is tetrafluoroethylene (TFE).
So, the correct answer is “Option D”.

Note: Teflon is not a material in general, it is a registered trade name of a range of fluoropolymers. It is used predominantly to make non-sticky utensils. Being unreactive, it is used to make containers and pipe works in chemical industries.
- Also, it has multiple strong carbon-fluorine bonds which makes it highly resistant towards solvents, acids and bases in general.