Th e t h er mal decomposit ion of polytetrafluoroeth ylene in t he presence o f gases or vapors h as bee n exp lored in t he range 450 0 to 500 0 C. Gases th a t have been used ca n be di vid ed into t hree groups, d ep ending on whether t hey inhibit, catalyze, or e xert no effect on the t herma l-deco mpos it ion process. Fluorin e-containing gases, i. c., ClF3 and IFs, which are capa ble of dissocia t ing at t he py rolys is te mperatures to give fluori ne atoms, showed t he most m ar ked inhibi t io n ye t obser ved. From the brevity of t he dura tio n of inhibi t ion , i t is concluded t hat t he fluorine a toms directly atta ck t he pol y mer to produ ce sc iss io ns t hrough a metathetica] r eaction.