A brand new materials developed by researchers from College of Toronto Engineering may provide a safer different to the nonstick chemical substances generally utilized in cookware and different functions.
The brand new substance repels each water and grease about in addition to commonplace nonstick coatings—but it surely incorporates a lot decrease quantities of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a household of chemical substances which have raised environmental and well being issues.
“The analysis group has been attempting to develop safer alternate options to PFAS for a very long time,” says Professor Kevin Golovin, who heads the Sturdy Repellent Engineered Superior Supplies (DREAM) Laboratory at U of T Engineering.
“The problem is that whereas it’s simple to create a substance that may repel water, it’s laborious to make one which may even repel oil and grease to the identical diploma. Scientists had hit an higher restrict to the efficiency of those different supplies.”
Since its invention within the late Thirties, Teflon—often known as polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE—has turn out to be well-known for its skill to repel water, oil and grease alike. Teflon is a component of a bigger household of gear generally known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).
PFAS molecules are fabricated from chains of carbon atoms, every of which is bonded to a number of fluorine atoms. The inertness of carbon-fluorine bonds is liable for the nonstick properties of PFAS.
Nonetheless, this chemical inertness additionally causes PFAS to withstand the conventional processes that will break down different natural molecules over time. Because of this, they’re generally known as ‘eternally chemical substances.’
Along with their persistence, PFAS are identified to build up in organic tissues, and their concentrations can turn out to be amplified as they journey up the meals chain.
Varied research have linked publicity to excessive ranges of PFAS to sure sorts of most cancers, start defects and different well being issues, with the longer chain PFAS typically thought of extra dangerous than the shorter ones.
Regardless of the dangers, the shortage of alternate options signifies that PFAS stay ubiquitous in client merchandise: they’re extensively used not solely in cookware, but additionally in rain-resistant materials, meals packaging and even in make-up.
“The fabric we’ve been working with as an alternative choice to PFAS is named polydimethylsiloxane or PDMS,” says Golovin.
“PDMS is usually bought beneath the identify silicone, and relying on the way it’s formulated, it may be very biocompatible—in reality it’s usually utilized in units that should be implanted into the physique. However till now, we couldn’t get PDMS to carry out fairly in addition to PFAS.”
To beat this downside, Ph.D. pupil Samuel Au developed a brand new chemistry method that the crew is looking nanoscale fletching. The method is described in a paper printed in Nature Communications.
“In contrast to typical silicone, we bond brief chains of PDMS to a base materials—you possibly can consider them like bristles on a brush,” says Au.
“To enhance their skill to repel oil, now we have now added within the shortest doable PFAS molecule, consisting of a single carbon with three fluorines on it. We have been capable of bond about seven of these to the tip of every PDMS bristle.
“If you happen to have been capable of shrink all the way down to the nanometer scale, it might look a bit just like the feathers that you simply see across the again finish of an arrow, the place it notches to the bow. That’s known as fletching, so that is nanoscale fletching.”
Au and the crew coated their new materials on a chunk of cloth, then positioned drops of assorted oils on it to see how nicely it may repel them. On a scale developed by the American Affiliation of Textile Chemists and Colorists, the brand new coating achieved a grade of 6, inserting it on par with many commonplace PFAS-based coatings.
“Whereas we did use a PFAS molecule on this course of, it’s the shortest doable one and due to this fact doesn’t bioaccumulate,” says Golovin.
“What we’ve seen within the literature, and even within the laws, is that it’s the longest-chain PFAS which can be getting banned first, with the shorter ones thought of a lot much less dangerous. Our hybrid materials supplies the identical efficiency as what had been achieved with long-chain PFAS, however with vastly diminished threat.”
Golovin says that the crew is open to collaborating with producers of nonstick coatings who may want to scale up and commercialize the method. Within the meantime, they are going to proceed engaged on much more alternate options.
“The holy grail of this discipline can be a substance that outperforms Teflon, however with no PFAS in any respect,” says Golovin.
“We’re not fairly there but, however this is a crucial step in the correct route.”
Extra data: Samuel Au et al, Nanoscale fletching of liquid-like polydimethylsiloxane with single perfluorocarbons permits sustainable oil-repellency, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62119-9
Supplied by College of Toronto