Tetrafluoroethylene is a chemical compound

Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

 with the formula C₂F₄. It is the simplest alkene

Alkene

In organic chemistry, an alkene, olefin, or olefine is an unsaturated chemical compound containing at least one carbon-to-carbon double bond...

 fluorocarbon

Fluorocarbon

Fluorocarbons, sometimes referred to as perfluorocarbons or PFCs, are organofluorine compounds that contain only carbon and fluorine bonded together in strong carbon–fluorine bonds. Fluoroalkanes that contain only single bonds are more chemically and thermally stable than alkanes...

. This gaseous species is used primarily in the industrial preparation of polymer

Polymer

A polymer is a large molecule composed of repeating structural units. These subunits are typically connected by covalent chemical bonds...

s.
Tetrafluoroethylene is a colorless, odorless gas. Like all unsaturated fluorocarbons it is susceptible to nucleophilic attack. It is unstable towards decomposition to C and CF₄ and prone to form explosive peroxides in contact with air.
Polymerization of tetrafluoroethylene produces polytetrafluoroethylene

Polytetrafluoroethylene

Polytetrafluoroethylene is a synthetic fluoropolymer of tetrafluoroethylene that finds numerous applications. PTFE is most well known by the DuPont brand name Teflon....

 (PTFE) polymers such as Teflon and Fluon.