罗伊·J·普伦基特

罗伊·约瑟夫·普伦基特
Roy Joseph Plunkett
罗伊·约瑟夫·普伦基特; Roy Joseph Plunkett
出生	1910年6月26日; 美国俄亥俄州新卡莱尔（英语：新卡萊爾 (俄亥俄州)）
逝世	1994年5月12日（83岁）; 美国得克萨斯州科珀斯克里斯蒂
国籍	美国
母校	曼彻斯特大学（英语：Manchester University (Indiana)）; 俄亥俄州立大学
知名于	聚四氟乙烯（特富龙）
	科学生涯
研究领域	有机化学
机构	杜邦

罗伊·J·普伦基特（英语：Roy J. Plunkett，1910年6月26日—1994年5月12日）是一位美国化学家，他在1938年发现了聚四氟乙烯（PTFE，即特富龙）。

早期生活和教育

普伦基特在俄亥俄州新卡莱尔（英语：新卡萊爾 (俄亥俄州)）出生，并曾就读于俄亥俄州普莱森特希尔（英语：Pleasant Hill, Ohio）的牛顿高中（Newton High School）^[1]。

1932年，他获得了曼彻斯特大学（英语：Manchester University (Indiana)）的化学文学士学位；其后于1936年因在“碳水化合物氧化机理”方面的研究工作获俄亥俄州立大学颁发哲学博士学位^[2]^[3]。

职业生涯

特富龙保温罩的撞击坑，图片来自于NASA超重宇宙射线实验（Ultra Heavy Cosmic Ray Experiment，简称UHCRE）。

1936年，他获杜邦公司聘任为研究化学家，并在新泽西州迪普华特（英语：Deepwater, New Jersey）的杰克逊实验室（Jackson Laboratory）上班^[1]。

普伦基特记载了发现特富龙的过程^[4]：

1938年4月6日早晨，我的助理杰克·里布（Jack Rebok）选择了我们前一天使用的一个TFE气缸，并准备好设备。当他打开阀门——让TFE气体在气缸自身压力下流动时——什么都没发生……我们陷入了困境。在这种情况下，我想不到可以做些什么，所以我们从气缸上拧下阀门，至此已很明显没有任何气体残留。我小心翼翼地将气缸倒过来，然后有一些白色粉末掉在实验台上。我们用气缸内的金属丝刮擦气缸……以取得更多的粉末。因为结果掉出的粉末的数量与总数不相符，所以我知道里面一定还有更多粉末。最后……我们决定切开气缸——当我们这样做时，我们在气缸的最底和较低的部分发现了更多的粉末。^{[注 1]}

普伦基特进一步指出，他所使用的TFE气缸每个重约1公斤——这是相对较小的气阀瓶尺寸的气缸，而不是大的气缸^[4]。

容器中的四氟乙烯聚合成了聚四氟乙烯——一种具有特别的特性（如耐腐蚀性，低表面摩擦力和高耐热性）的蜡状固体。普伦基特在1986年4月在纽约市举行的春季美国化学学会全国会议的化学史一节上讲述了这一意外发现的始末，该会议的内容后来发表在研讨会论文集中。

他在1939年至1952年期间在杜邦所属的钱伯斯工厂担任生产四乙基铅（一种汽油添加剂）的首席化学家，之后他在杜邦负责管理氟利昂的生产，直至他于1975年退休为止^[5]。

奖项

1951年，普伦基特获费城颁发约翰·斯科特奖章（英语：John Scott Medal）^[5]，授奖原因是他的发明促进了“人类的舒适、福利和幸福”^[6]。颁奖礼的参加者都获发带有特氟隆涂层的松饼罐^[7]。普伦基特随后也获得各种的奖项和荣誉：普伦基特分别于1973年和1985年入选塑料名人堂（Plastics Hall of Fame）和国家发明家名人堂（英语：National Inventors Hall of Fame）^[8]^[9]。

逝世

1994年5月12日，普伦基特在他位于得克萨斯州家中因癌症去世，享年83岁^[3]^[10]^[11]。

外部链接

Center for Oral History. Roy J. Plunkett. Science History Institute（英语：Science History Institute）. [2018-02-21]. （原始内容存档于2018-06-14）.
Bohning, James J. Roy J. Plunkett, Transcripts of Interviews Conducted by James J. Bohning in New York City and Philadelphia on 14 April and 27 May 1986 (PDF). Philadelphia, PA: Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry（英语：Science History Institute）. 1986-05-27 [2018-08-25]. （原始内容存档 (PDF)于2018-06-03）.

参考来源

注脚

^ 英语原文内容：“On the morning of April 6, 1938, Jack Rebok, my assistant, selected one of the TFE cylinders that we had been using the previous day and set up the apparatus ready to go. When he opened the valve — to let the TFE gas flow under its own pressure from the cylinder — nothing happened...We were in a quandary. I couldn't think of anything else to do under the circumstances, so we unscrewed the valve from the cylinder. By this time it was pretty clear that there wasn't any gas left. I carefully tipped the cylinder upside down, and out came a whitish powder down onto the lab bench. We scraped around some with the wire inside the cylinder...to get some more of the powder. What I got out that way certainly didn't add up, so I knew there must be more, inside. Finally...we decided to cut open the cylinder. When we did, we found more of the powder packed onto the bottom and lower sides of the cylinder.”

文献

^ ^1.0 ^1.1 Bohning, James J. Roy J. Plunkett, Transcripts of Interviews Conducted by James J. Bohning in New York City and Philadelphia on 14 April and 27 May 1986 (PDF). Philadelphia, PA: Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry（英语：Science History Institute）. 1986-05-27 [2018-08-24]. （原始内容存档 (PDF)于2018-06-03）.
^ Plunkett, Roy Joseph; Evans, William Lloyd. The Mechanism of Carbohydrate Oxidation. XXIV. The Action of aldehydo-d-Glucose and of aldehydo-d-Galactose in Alkaline Solutions. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 1938-12, 60 (12): 2847–2852. doi:10.1021/ja01279a007.
^ ^3.0 ^3.1 Inventor profile. National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. 2007 [2008-01-10]. （原始内容存档于2008-01-17）.
^ ^4.0 ^4.1 Plunkett, RJ; Seymour RB and Kirshenbaum GS, Editors, Elsevier. The History of Polytetrafluoroethylene: Discovery and Development. High Performance Polymers: Their Origin and Development. Proceedings of the Symposium on the History of High Performance Polymers at the American Chemical Society Meeting held in New York: 261–266. April 15–18, 1986. ISBN 0444011390.
^ ^5.0 ^5.1 Center for Oral History. Roy J. Plunkett. Science History Institute（英语：Science History Institute）. [2018-02-21]. （原始内容存档于2018-06-14）.
^ The Inventor of Teflon. Teflon Assessment. [2018-02-22]. （原始内容存档于2018-02-22）.
^ Roy J. Plunkett. Science History Institute（英语：Science History Institute）. [2018-02-21]. （原始内容存档于2018-05-31）.
^ Roy J. Plunkett. The Plastics Academy's Hall of Fame. [2013-10-21]. （原始内容存档于2013-10-21）.
^ DuPont Heritage Timeline: 1938 Roy Plunkett. DuPont. [2013-10-21]. （原始内容存档于2015-02-21）.
^ Dr. Roy J. Plunkett: Discoverer of Fluoropolymers (PDF). The Fluoropolymers Division Newsletter. 1994, (Summer): 1–2. （原始内容 (PDF)存档于2003-07-09）.
^ Roy J. Plunkett Is Dead at 83; Created Teflon While at Du Pont. [2015-08-20]. （原始内容存档于2018-01-23）.

[5] 英语原文内容：“On the morning of April 6, 1938, Jack Rebok, my assistant, selected one of the TFE cylinders that we had been using the previous day and set up the apparatus ready to go. When he opened the valve — to let the TFE gas flow under its own pressure from the cylinder — nothing happened...We were in a quandary. I couldn't think of anything else to do under the circumstances, so we unscrewed the valve from the cylinder. By this time it was pretty clear that there wasn't any gas left. I carefully tipped the cylinder upside down, and out came a whitish powder down onto the lab bench. We scraped around some with the wire inside the cylinder...to get some more of the powder. What I got out that way certainly didn't add up, so I knew there must be more, inside. Finally...we decided to cut open the cylinder. When we did, we found more of the powder packed onto the bottom and lower sides of the cylinder.”

[transcript-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Bohning, James J. Roy J. Plunkett, Transcripts of Interviews Conducted by James J. Bohning in New York City and Philadelphia on 14 April and 27 May 1986 (PDF). Philadelphia, PA: Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry（英语：Science History Institute）. 1986-05-27 [2018-08-24]. （原始内容存档 (PDF)于2018-06-03）.

[2] Plunkett, Roy Joseph; Evans, William Lloyd. The Mechanism of Carbohydrate Oxidation. XXIV. The Action of aldehydo-d-Glucose and of aldehydo-d-Galactose in Alkaline Solutions. Journal of the American Chemical Society. 1938-12, 60 (12): 2847–2852. doi:10.1021/ja01279a007.

[invent2007-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Inventor profile. National Inventors Hall of Fame Foundation, Inc. 2007 [2008-01-10]. （原始内容存档于2008-01-17）.

[discover-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Plunkett, RJ; Seymour RB and Kirshenbaum GS, Editors, Elsevier. The History of Polytetrafluoroethylene: Discovery and Development. High Performance Polymers: Their Origin and Development. Proceedings of the Symposium on the History of High Performance Polymers at the American Chemical Society Meeting held in New York: 261–266. April 15–18, 1986. ISBN 0444011390.

[OH-6] 5.0 ^5.1 Center for Oral History. Roy J. Plunkett. Science History Institute（英语：Science History Institute）. [2018-02-21]. （原始内容存档于2018-06-14）.

[Assessment-7] The Inventor of Teflon. Teflon Assessment. [2018-02-22]. （原始内容存档于2018-02-22）.

[Profile-8] Roy J. Plunkett. Science History Institute（英语：Science History Institute）. [2018-02-21]. （原始内容存档于2018-05-31）.

[Plastics-9] Roy J. Plunkett. The Plastics Academy's Hall of Fame. [2013-10-21]. （原始内容存档于2013-10-21）.

[DuPont-10] DuPont Heritage Timeline: 1938 Roy Plunkett. DuPont. [2013-10-21]. （原始内容存档于2015-02-21）.

[Newsletter-11] Dr. Roy J. Plunkett: Discoverer of Fluoropolymers (PDF). The Fluoropolymers Division Newsletter. 1994, (Summer): 1–2. （原始内容 (PDF)存档于2003-07-09）.

[nytimes-12] Roy J. Plunkett Is Dead at 83; Created Teflon While at Du Pont. [2015-08-20]. （原始内容存档于2018-01-23）.

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