Krytox is a trademarked name of a family of high-performance synthetic lubricant

Lubricant

A lubricant is a substance introduced to reduce friction between moving surfaces. It may also have the function of transporting foreign particles and of distributing heat...

s (oil

Oil

An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....

s and grease

Grease (lubricant)

The term grease is used to describe semisolid lubricants. Although the word grease is also used to describe rendered fat of animals, in the context of lubrication, grease typically applies to a material consisting of a soap emulsified with mineral or vegetable oil...

s) with a variety of applications. Invented by researchers at DuPont

DuPont

E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...

, it is a colourless polymer containing ether

Ether

Ethers are a class of organic compounds that contain an ether group — an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups — of general formula R–O–R'. A typical example is the solvent and anesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether"...

 functionality

Functional group

In organic chemistry, functional groups are specific groups of atoms within molecules that are responsible for the characteristic chemical reactions of those molecules. The same functional group will undergo the same or similar chemical reaction regardless of the size of the molecule it is a part of...

. Krytox oils are 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...

 polymers of polyhexafluoropropylene oxide

Hexafluoropropylene oxide

Hexafluoropropylene oxide is an intermediate used in industrial organofluorine chemistry; specifically it is a monomer for fluoropolymers. This colourless gas is the epoxide of hexafluoropropylene, that is fluorinated analog of propylene oxide, HFPO is produced by DuPont and 3M and as a...

, with a chemical formula:

F−(CF(CF₃)−CF₂−O)_n−CF₂CF₃

where the degree of polymerization

Degree of polymerization

The degree of polymerization, or DP, is usually defined as the number of monomeric units in a macromolecule or polymer or oligomer molecule.For a homopolymer, there is only one type of monomeric unit andthe number-average degree of polymerization is given by...

, n, generally lies within the range of 10 to 60. These compounds are collectively known by many names including perfluoropolyether (PFPE), perfluoroalkylether (PFAE) and perfluoropolyalkylether (PFPAE). A unique identifier is their CAS registry number

CAS registry number

CAS Registry Numbersare unique numerical identifiers assigned by the "Chemical Abstracts Service" toevery chemical described in the...

, 60164-51-4.

In addition to PFPE, Krytox grease also contains telomer

Telomer

The word telomer has two distinct, yet related meanings.*Its original meaning is in polymer science, when telomerization results in an extremely small polymer—one whose degree of polymerization is generally between 2 and 5....

s of PTFE and in fact was designed as a liquid or grease form of PTFE. It is thermally stable, nonflammable (even in liquid oxygen

Liquid oxygen

Liquid oxygen — abbreviated LOx, LOX or Lox in the aerospace, submarine and gas industries — is one of the physical forms of elemental oxygen.-Physical properties:...

), and insoluble in water, acids, bases, and most organic solvent

Solvent

A solvent is a liquid, solid, or gas that dissolves another solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution that is soluble in a certain volume of solvent at a specified temperature...

s. It is nonvolatile and useful over a broad temperature range of -75 to 350 °C or higher. Its high resistance to ionizing radiation

Ionizing radiation

Ionizing radiation is radiation composed of particles that individually have sufficient energy to remove an electron from an atom or molecule. This ionization produces free radicals, which are atoms or molecules containing unpaired electrons...

makes it useful for the aerospace and nuclear industries. It can also withstand extreme pressure and high mechanical stress.

Safety

The manufacturer states on Krytox tubes, "May cause mild skin and eye irritation. Contact with very hot surfaces (above 500°F/260°C) can generate fumes which can cause coughing or respiratory irritation. Large amounts could lead to lung damage which might not be apparent for several hours. These fumes may also cause flu-like symptoms.(insert reference or link to manufacturer's claims)"