tetrafluoroethylene, a colourless, odourless, faintly toxic gas belonging to the family of organic halogen compounds; it is the starting material in the manufacture of polytetrafluoroethylene (q.v.), a valuable synthetic resin.
Tetrafluoroethylene is produced by heating chlorodifluoromethane, which is made from chloroform by its reaction with hydrogen fluoride in the presence of antimony pentachloride; chlorodifluoromethane (known by several trade names, of which the oldest is Freon 22) is used as a refrigerant in small air conditioners. Tetrafluoroethylene is flammable and, under certain conditions, explosive. It is practically insoluble in water but is appreciably soluble in acetone.