Posted on 08/12/2025 5:29:01 AM PDT by Red Badger
Scientists developed a safer non-stick surface using a unique “nanoscale fletching” design that repels grease like Teflon, without the toxic baggage. Credit: Shutterstock
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Engineers have crafted a new non-stick coating that could finally give Teflon some competition—without the dangerous “forever chemicals” that have raised health alarms.
By bonding silicone-based bristles with the tiniest PFAS molecule possible, the team created a surface that resists both water and grease as effectively as traditional coatings.
Safer Non-Stick Alternative Emerges
Researchers at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering have created a new type of material that could provide a safer option for the non-stick coatings widely used in cookware and other everyday products.
This innovation repels both water and grease as effectively as many standard non-stick surfaces, but contains much smaller amounts of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). PFAS are a group of chemicals linked to environmental and health concerns.
“The research community has been trying to develop safer alternatives to PFAS for a long time,” says Professor Kevin Golovin (MIE), who heads the Durable Repellent Engineered Advanced Materials (DREAM) Laboratory at U of T Engineering.
“The challenge is that while it’s easy to create a substance that will repel water, it’s hard to make one that will also repel oil and grease to the same degree. Scientists had hit an upper limit to the performance of these alternative materials.”
The Science Behind Teflon and PFAS
First introduced in the late 1930s, Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene or PTFE) became famous for its ability to keep water, oil, and grease from sticking. Teflon is part of the larger PFAS family.
PFAS molecules are made of carbon atoms bonded to multiple fluorine atoms. These carbon-fluorine bonds are extremely stable, which is what gives PFAS their strong non-stick properties.
That same chemical stability also makes PFAS resistant to natural breakdown processes. This persistence in the environment has earned them the nickname “forever chemicals.”
Health Concerns and Ubiquity of PFAS
In addition to their persistence, PFAS are known to accumulate in biological tissues, and their concentrations can become amplified as they travel up the food chain.
Various studies have linked exposure to high levels of PFAS to certain types of cancer, birth defects, and other health problems, with the longer chain PFAS generally considered more harmful than the shorter ones.
Despite the risks, the lack of alternatives means that PFAS remain ubiquitous in consumer products: they are widely used not only in cookware, but also in rain-resistant fabrics, food packaging, and even in makeup.
Searching for a Safer Substitute “The material we’ve been working with as an alternative to PFAS is called polydimethylsiloxane or PDMS,” says Golovin.
“PDMS is often sold under the name silicone, and depending on how it’s formulated, it can be very biocompatible — in fact it’s often used in devices that are meant to be implanted into the body. But until now, we couldn’t get PDMS to perform quite as well as PFAS.”
To overcome this problem, MIE PhD student Samuel Au developed a new chemistry technique that the team is calling nanoscale fletching. The technique is described in a paper published in Nature Communications.
Mimicking Feathered Arrows at the Nanoscale
“Unlike typical silicone, we bond short chains of PDMS to a base material — you can think of them like bristles on a brush,” says Au.
“To improve their ability to repel oil, we have now added in the shortest possible PFAS molecule, consisting of a single carbon with three fluorines on it. We were able to bond about seven of those to the end of each PDMS bristle.
“If you were able to shrink down to the nanometre scale, it would look a bit like the feathers that you see around the back end of an arrow, where it notches to the bow. That’s called fletching, so this is nanoscale fletching.”
Matching PFAS Performance with Minimal Risk
Au and the team coated their new material on a piece of fabric, then placed drops of various oils on it to see how well it could repel them. On a scale developed by the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists, the new coating achieved a grade of 6, placing it on par with many standard PFAS-based coatings.
“While we did use a PFAS molecule in this process, it is the shortest possible one and therefore does not bioaccumulate,” says Golovin.
“What we’ve seen in the literature, and even in the regulations, is that it’s the longest-chain PFAS that are getting banned first, with the shorter ones considered much less harmful. Our hybrid material provides the same performance as what had been achieved with long-chain PFAS, but with greatly reduced risk.”
Toward a PFAS-Free Future
Golovin says that the team is open to collaborating with manufacturers of non-stick coatings who might wish to scale up and commercialize the process. In the meantime, they will continue working on even more alternatives.
“The holy grail of this field would be a substance that outperforms Teflon, but with no PFAS at all,” says Golovin.
“We’re not quite there yet, but this is an important step in the right direction.”
Reference:
“Nanoscale fletching of liquid-like polydimethylsiloxane with single perfluorocarbons enables sustainable oil-repellency”
by Samuel Au, Jeremy R. Gauthier, Boran Kumral, Tobin Filleter, Scott Mabury and Kevin Golovin, 23 July 2025, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-62119-9
You mean to tell me that for once ‘scientists’ AREN’T trying to kill us? ;)
I’m on the ‘Cast Iron Bandwagon’ as well, though I do have one OXO large frying pan that I cannot live without.
Real easy to put it back, just heat up the skillet to a high dry temp and put some oil on a paper towel and spread it all over then you’re good to go..............
This is even industry’s take on teflon pans:
No. Modern (post-2014) pans coated with Teflon, used as directed, are not considered toxic. Before 2014, a chemical used in the manufacture of Teflon, PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), was found to present several potential human health risks. It was replaced by alternative compounds in the PFAS (per- and polyfluorinated substances) family, which are considered to be safer during Teflon production. In most major markets around the world, manufacturers phased out PFOA around 2014. The nonstick Teflon pans produced today are widely accepted to be safe for everyday cooking, with the condition that they are not used at temperatures over 500°F (260°C).
https://www.xometry.com/resources/machining/is-it-safe-to-use-products-with-teflon/
Good luck never getting your pan surface to 500 degrees.
Cast iron is great for cooking, especially the heat retention. The new non stick pans are incredibly good.
These are great and reasonably priced:
https://www.zwilling.com/us/zwilling-parma-plus-2-pc-aluminum-non-stick-frying-pan-set-1029767/1029767.html?srsltid=AfmBOoqZn2spB4TZIFeRmSVu9O9uRkRNRWe4zMh9OojbwShEkozSXLpezJU
We were shopping at a Salvation Army store many, many years ago and came upon a really severely rusted cast iron Dutch oven. It looked as though it had been sitting outside for years.
We bought it for $5. The cashier looked at it and said what in the world are you going to do with that ugly rusted up thing? Use it for a flower pot?
No, we said, it will clean up rather nicely once we get it seasoned.
We have been using it regularly for at least 20 years..............
How often does the cast iron pan get washed with soap and water ?
“..a well-seasoned cast iron frying pan, dutch oven or cooking put is the best non-stick surface and has been for centuries....”
Yep.... ^THIS^ is what we use.
And we’ve scoured many a yard sale, flea market, etc. looking for the older stuff; the pans with a nice, smooth, decent unwarped bottoms.
We’ve been fortunate enough to pick up a couple of 1940s vintage 8” pans for like $3-$5 each that looked like they were ready for the trashcan. Picked up, restored and they make the best cornbread of any of em.
And DO NOT cook Tomatoe anything in CI.
A good Steel pan LOW HEAT with a spritz of olive oil and your eggs will not stick! Do not touch the eggs till they are ready to break free and move as a whole, and 6ou won’t have a problem with over easy, hard, or whatever. For scrambled, keep the eggs moving on low heat. Slow down the cooking- neve r had problems with sticking this way.
Amen!
And, throwing the thread completely off topic, if you're a skillet-baked cornbread fan this is the absolute best recipe ever. (From the most amazing chef I've ever known -- we miss you Chef John!)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhiUKOJZltU
We have a ceramic coated cast iron Dutch oven for that!.............
If you know how to cook you don’t need Teflon. I make eggs over easy in my stainless, carbon or cast iron pans without any sticking at all.
My cast iron skillet will outlast me….
I normally wouldn't comment about bad chemistry information on the internet, but this post is dangerous. Almost any stove can get well over 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and every fluoro-carbon starts pyrolyzing at that temperature. These fumes are well known to be quite toxic to people and can kill pets. The mechanism and long-term effects haven't been studied definitively. Anecdotally, none of the many industrial chemists and chemical engineers I have worked with use Teflon cookware.
That’s another thing I love- it is SO easy to clean, no matter WHAT gets cooked in it! I’ll pour any excess grease into a container, wipe out anything that isn’t stuck on, pour a few ounces of water into it, heat it up to boiling. I’ll use a metal- steel or aluminum brush to scrub it, or a metal spatula to scrape it clean, pour out the water, wipe it out real good and wipe it down with a little vegetable oil or olive oil, and that’s it. Takes 5 minutes….
“A WELL SEASONED CAST IRON FRYING PAN”
I used to have those but gave up. My OCD husband doesn’t get that you don’t have to scrub the living hell out of them. He can’t help himself — hence the “C” in OCD.
😫😣🤔......................................
People still use teflon?!
Apparently so..................
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