Roy J. Plunkett

• Born: June 26, 1910
• Birthplace: New Carlisle, Ohio
• Died: May 12, 1994
• Place of death: Corpus Christi, Texas

American chemist

Plunkett is best known for his accidental discovery of Teflon while researching chlorofluorocarbon refrigerants. Teflon’s nonstick and nonreactive properties made it an ideal material for many military, commercial, and medical applications and helped transform the plastics industry.

Primary field: Chemistry

Primary invention: Teflon

Early Life

Roy J. Plunkett was born in New Carlisle, Ohio, and spent his childhood on his parents’ farm. He attended Manchester College in Indiana, where one of his roommates was Paul J. Flory, who later won the 1984 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contributions to polymer theory, the area in which Plunkett would make his greatest scientific contributions. Plunkett graduated with a B.A. in chemistry in 1932. He earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in chemistry from Ohio State University in 1933 and 1936, respectively. He would also receive honorary doctorate degrees from Manchester College, Washington College, and Ohio State University. After college, he married his wife, Lois, and had two sons, Michael and Patrick. Plunkett found his first job at E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (DuPont), the company with which he would spend his entire career. He was hired in 1936 as a research chemist at DuPont’s Jackson Laboratory in Deepwater, New Jersey. His first assignment involved research into chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) refrigerants.

Life’s Work

Plunkett was assigned to a joint research effort between DuPont and General Motors’ Frigidaire Division to develop the chemistry of fluorocarbons. The project sought to replace the commonly used sulfur dioxide and ammonia for refrigerators and air conditioners with fluids that were nontoxic, nonflammable, odorless, and colorless. Plunkett was to research the coolant tetrafluoroethylene (TFE), a gas normally stored in small cylinders at room temperature. It was during an experiment on this project that Plunkett would accidentally discover what became his best-known invention, which would revolutionize the field of polymer research.

In 1938, the twenty-seven-year-old Plunkett opened the valve of one of his cylinders in order to retrieve the TFE stored inside, which had been chilled to a dry-ice temperature of –110 Fahrenheit (–76 Celsius). When no gas emerged, Plunkett at first believed that it had somehow leaked from the storage cylinder. After weighing the cylinder, however, Plunkett realized that the unchanged weight meant that the gas was somehow still inside. Also, further investigation revealed that the cylinder’s valve was not clogged. Plunkett next cut the storage cylinder in half, revealing a white, waxy solid substance coating the inside. Plunkett had accidentally created polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), a fluorocarbon polymer formed when gas molecules join together in a chainlike reaction.

Plunkett received a patent for his invention in 1941. Although his discovery of PTFE was the accidental result of a failed experiment, he had the knowledge and intuition to realize that the substance had several physical properties that could make it useful and that it should be investigated. In particular, he noted its chemical inertness and slippery quality. DuPont’s Central Research Division performed numerous experiments on PTFE over the next decade, testing its ability to withstand strong acids and bases, powerful chemicals and solvents, and extreme hot and cold temperatures. Despite its beneficial properties, PTFE at first proved too expensive to produce to make it commercially viable, but DuPont was able to introduce it to the commercial market under the brand name Teflon by the end of the decade.

While DuPont developed Teflon for commercial use, Plunkett continued to build his distinguished career with the company in other divisions. In 1939, Plunkett was promoted to chief chemist for the manufacture of tetraethyl lead at DuPont’s largest plant, a role that he would fill until 1952. Tetraethyl lead was an important additive that raised octane levels when added to gasoline. After that, he served as DuPont’s director of operations in the Freon Products Division in Wilmington, Delaware. Plunkett received numerous awards and other forms of recognition in his lifetime, including the Philadelphia Scott Medal in 1960, and induction into the Plastics Hall of Fame in 1973 and the Inventors Hall of Fame in 1985. He retired from DuPont in 1975 and died of cancer in Corpus Christi, Texas, on May 12, 1994, at the age of eighty-three.

Impact

Plunkett is remembered as a pioneer in the fields of polymer chemistry and materials science. His determination to study the result of a failed experiment became an often-cited example of the importance of recognizing the role of luck and an open mind in the process of scientific discovery. His work in fluoropolymers played a critical early role in the development of what became a multibillion-dollar plastics industry. Teflon’s military applications, beginning with its use in production of the first atomic bombs, aided national defense. Teflon became so well known that it became a national catchphrase by the 1980’s, when President Ronald Reagan became known as the “Teflon President” because the scandals that plagued his administration did not seem to “stick” to him personally and affect his popularity.

In addition to Plunkett’s discovery of the polymer Teflon, his research and development contributions during his DuPont career have resulted in new products and processes utilized in the refrigeration, aerosol, electronics, plastics, and aerospace industries. Other useful polymers developed based on Plunkett’s accidental discovery include neoprene and nylon. Plunkett’s name also lives on through DuPont’s Plunkett Awards, given each year in recognition of groundbreaking innovations using DuPont fluoropolymer products.

Bibliography

Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry. Roy J. Plunkett: Transcripts of Interviews. Philadelphia: Author, 1990. Provides written transcripts of interviews with Plunkett conducted by James J. Bohning.

Blau, Peter J. Friction Science and Technology: From Concepts to Applications. 2d ed. Boca Raton, Fla.: CRC Press, 2008. Provides a broad overview of the field in which Plunkett worked. Expanded edition includes broader coverage, new topics, new developments in the field, and updated ASTM standards—a voluntary system of technical standards for materials, products, systems, and services.

Hannan, Patrick J. Serendipity, Luck, and Wisdom in Research. New York: Lincoln, 2006. Explores the key role that serendipity sometimes plays in important research developments, including Plunkett’s invention of Teflon, and the importance of researchers who pay attention to the alternate possibilities of failed experiments.

Hounshell, David A., and John Kenly Smith. Science and Corporate Strategy: DuPont Research and Development, 1902-1980. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Commissioned by DuPont and based on corporate records and interviews, this work explores how research and development, where Plunkett was employed, expanded to become a key component in the success of DuPont and, subsequently, other large corporations.

National Research Council. Commission on Polymer Science and Engineering. Polymer Science and Engineering: The Shifting Research Frontiers. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press, 1994. Provides an overview of the history and later development of the field of polymer research. Also available on the Internet. Includes a bibliography.

Taylor, Graham D., and Patricia E. Sudnik. DuPont and the International Chemical Industry. Boston: Twayne, 1984. Presents a history of the corporation for which Plunkett worked throughout his career. Provides insight into the business aspects of chemical research and development.

Wood, Andrew, and David Rotman. “Keeping Innovation on Track: Polymer Research.” Chemical Week 154, no. 20 (May 25, 1994): 1. A brief introduction to Plunkett’s pioneering role in the field of polymer research and how the field has changed and developed since his time.