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
Forever chemicals Ping!..............
Yet, still... it is a \\polymerized hydrocarbon\\, non-porous surface.
Plant oil, rock oil.
To a chemist, there is little difference.
Testimony from the field.......
Having recently taken over some of the cooking from my debilitated wife, I can testify to the contrary.
She has two second generation, well seasoned cast iron skillets that produce sticking.
She has new and rather expensive lined cook ware by two different manufacturers that allows no sticking, even with little or no oil.
The new stuff is in fact non stick and is far superior to the old two generations old and totally seasoned cast iron
Never put cooking oil into cold cast iron to cook with. Always put it in hot, so that the polymerization will happen before you crack the first egg.............
Never put cooking oil into cold cast iron to cook with. Always put it in hot, so that the polymerization will happen before you crack the first egg.............
Absolutely!
How long did it take to recognize Teflon’s harms?
Cast iron is the way to go for pans, stainless steel for pots.
So instead of the dangerous forever chemical PFAS, it uses PFAS.
What are you, washing her cast iron in the dishwasher?
Yep. Carbon steel and even stainless is pretty much non stick at the proper temperature. (Leidenfrost effect)
If the cast iron is washed with soap, it removes the seasoning of the polymerized cooking oils.
Just let the pans cool then wipe surfaces some with salt.
I made a mistake as a teenager working in a restaurant by ‘cleaning’ the head cook’s egg frying pan with soap and water. I thought he was gonna kill me! ......................
Per article, key word:
“Safer.,” not ‘safe.’
Translated: No different than media reports of “DC lower crime.”
I own no fluorine based nonstick, including Hellas crap.
All cast iron, and a few ceramic coated (the latter of which are disposable).
Of course not.
There are no Teflon harms.
Teflon is inert
Why worry? We only have 5 years left until the erf ignites.
How well does cast iron do on electric stoves? I never tried.
EC
Perzackley!................
The absolute bestest non-stick frying surface is bacon grease.
And, under that grease, a cast-iron or stainless-steel pan.
With the added feature of getting to eat all the bacon to “manufacture” the bacon grease.
Tiny PFAS............... 😁
For some things. Some foods strip it off.
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