Polytetrafluoroethylene, or PTFE, is at the heart of what we do. And one of the most useful substances known to man.

	With the lowest dynamic coefficient of friction (0.04) among known materials today, and a very low critical surface tension (18.6m N/m), PTFE naturally helps reduce surface friction.
	To take advantage of this characteristic and achieve anti-rub and slip effects in inks and coatings, PTFE must be used in fine powder form (normally between 3-12 microns in mean particle size), and located physically on the surface, either as a continuous film or as discrete particles in sufficient quantity.
	This is easier said than done. Due to the strong C-F bond and the shielding effect of fluorine atoms surrounding the carbon backbone, PTFE is incredibly tough, and challenging to reduce in size and shape.
	Through our experience, technical focus and proprietary techniques, Shamrock has perfected various methods to break PTFE down to finer molecules, and to fully control it's particle size and uniformity. These techniques impact molecular weight , crystallinity and morphology of the PTFE particles.
	First, to enable reduction to fine powder particles, the high initial molecular weight (106 - 107) must be drastically lowered by irradiation.
	Then, the lower molecular weight (104-105) polymers are subjected to various (proprietary) micronization (grinding) techniques that yield PTFE particles of different sizes and shapes (rough edged, flat, equant, fibrous). Different sized and shaped particles contribute to different physical properties.
	In thin film applications such as certain printing inks, Shamrock's extremely fine particle sizes and controlled particle size distribution allow formulators to dial in the specific degree of anti-rub and slip functionality desired.