Isopropyl Alcohol (commonly called Isopropanol) liquid is a high purity cleaner and solvent. The purity level meets Grade A standard for MIL-Spec TT-I-735A and ASTM D770, ensuring that no contamination occurs from its use.
As a cleaner, it is fully miscible in water and most organic fluids, making it good at dissolving dirt, light organic contaminants, and ionic flux residues. Since isopropyl alcohol is highly anhydrous (without water) and hygroscopic (absorbs humidity), it readily scavenges water off surfaces, trapping the water in the IPA solution as an azeotropic mixture. This helps to dehumidify surfaces.
As a solvent, it acts as a moderate evaporation, ‘plastic safe’ diluent and is used to improve the properties of paint resins and other heterogeneous solid mixtures. Therefore, it serves as a useful carrier solvent to adjust the rheological properties and compatibilities of complex mixtures. Due to IPA’s volatility, it resists entrapment in the coating. As it dries, it gives off a very light odour, which is not bothersome but serves as a cue to limit over-exposure due to poor ventilation.
Applications & Usages in Cleaning
Isopropyl Alcohol is safe for most plastics, seals, ceramics, and printed circuit board components, it is used heavily in the electronics industry. It is great for cleaning screens, stencils, fibre optics, cables, keyboards, computer printed circuit board components, or electrical contacts and connectors. It is also used to clean oxides and grime on audio or videotape heads. It effectively removes light greases, oils, and flux without adding additional residues to contacts, relays, and circuit boards connectors. It is quick drying relative to water. Further, it can be used to wash off more aggressive organic solvents like acetone or toluene.
Health, Safety, and Environmental Awareness
Environmental Impact: Isopropyl Alcohol is high volatile organic content (VOC) of 100%. Avoid runoff into storm and sewer drains. This product is biodegradable.
Health and Safety: Isopropyl alcohol solution is flammable and shouldn’t be used in the presence of open flames or other ignition sources. Keep container closed. Avoid prolonged breathing of vapours. Use with adequate ventilation.
Caution
Always perform a compatibility test on a non-critical area or a representative test substrate prior to use. Test even if the compatibility chart predicts a high compatibility: modern parts may incorporate undeclared sensitive materials (such as custom plastic blends, custom additives, protective coatings, or decorative coatings).
Do NOT use on computer monitors, tablet screens, or eyeglasses. This solvent is too powerful for the coatings used on these devices.
Immersion baths will immediately start to absorb moisture from the air, so the lifespan as a water-free solvent is very short.
NOTE: This product is not intended as a disinfectant for humans or animals. It was not treated to remove possible fungal spores or rare alcohol-resistant bacterial strains. Further, high purity anhydrous Isopropyl Alcohol is not an effective disinfectant.