3M™ Novec™ 71IPA Engineered Fluid

3M™ Novec™ 71IPA Engineered Fluid

Sometimes you need the best of both worlds. 3M™ Novec™ 71IPA Engineered Fluid combines the cleaning power of isopropanol with the non-flammability of hydrofluoroether (HFE) chemistry.

Like isopropanol (also known as isopropyl alcohol or rubbing alcohol), Novec™ 71IPA provides effective light-duty removal of oils, greases, waxes and fingerprints. Unlike isopropanol, Novec™ 71IPA is non-flammable and significantly reduces the risk of fire hazards associated with isopropanol.

This non-flammable solvent evaporates quickly without leaving any residue, making it an effective rinsing and drying agent. Faster drying times lead to increased productivity.

Novec 71IPA Engineered Fluid is non-flammable, non-ozone depleting, and has a low global warming potential, making it an environmentally friendly choice for precision cleaning and surface preparation.

3M™ Novec™ 71 IPA is also effective when combined with co-solvents for “no-clean flux” residue removal from printed circuit boards and other electronics. Its low surface tension helps with cleaning hard-to-reach areas, ensuring that all contaminants are removed.

What is Novec™?

Novec™ is a brand of engineered fluid developed by 3M™ for use in vapor degreasing and precision cleaning. Novec™ fluids use hydrofluoroether (HFE) chemistry, and are non-flammable, low toxicity replacements for CFCs, HCFCs, HFCs, n-propyl bromide (nPB) and chlorinated solvents.

What is Novec™ 71IPA? – Features & Benefits

3M™ Novec™ 71IPA is an azeotropic blend designed for light-duty cleaning or vapor degreasing of a wide variety of materials, including metal, glass and some plastics and elastomers. In a materials compatibility study of additive manufacturing cleaning, Novec™ 71IPA scored highest with all ten materials tested, making it the solvent of choice for AM component cleaning.

The chemical composition of 3M™ Novec™ 71DA is a hydrofluoroether (HFE) blend with isopropanol. The HFE portion of the blend consists of two inseparable isomers of methyl nonafluorobutyl ether (C₄F₉OCH₃) with essentially identical properties. These are (CF₃)₂CFCF₂OCH₃ (CAS 163702-08-7) and CF₃CF₂CF₂CF₂OCH₃ (CAS 163702-07-6).

Novec™ 71IPA is especially useful where the cleaning effectiveness of isopropanol is desired, without the fire hazard risk. Novec™ 71IPA features low surface tension, non-flammability and fluid stability. This stable blend has essentially constant vapor and liquid composition at its boiling point, and can be used in a wide range of vapor degreaser types.

Novec™ 71IPA offers high materials compatibility and effective cleaning quality in a solvent with an excellent safety profile. Its benefits are particularly useful for cleaning medical device parts, electronic components, optical lenses and aerospace parts during production.

• Effective light-duty cleaning of greases, oils, waxes and fingerprints
• Stable, azeotropic solvent blend
• Low global warming potential (GWP)
• Zero ozone depletion potential (ODP)
• Non-flammable
• Low toxicity makes it safe for workers and the environment
• Low surface tension allows it to penetrate tight spaces for thorough cleaning 

3M™ Novec™ 71IPA Data Sheets

What is Novec™ 71IPA Compatible With?

Novec™ 71IPA engineered fluid is ideal for precision and specialty cleaning and rinsing for particulate removal. It is compatible with vapor degreasing and immersion cleaning for a wide range of metals, glass and some plastics and elastomers.

Learn more about materials compatibility on our Solvent Cleaning page.

3M™ Novec™ Voluntary Phase Out Announcement

On December 20, 2022, 3M™ announced plans to exit per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) manufacturing and work to discontinue the use of the PFAS in its product portfolio by the end of 2025.

As an authorized 3M™ Engineered Fluids distributor, Best Technology remains committed to our customers throughout this transition and continues to receive 3M™ Novec™ products.  We will continue to advocate for our customers to fulfill current orders as well as secure products for future orders. We highly recommend preparing for the phaseout by testing BestSolv™ replacement fluids.

3M™ Novec™ 71IPA Replacement Fluid – BestSolv™ 71IPA or BestSolv™ Lima

Realizing our customers must transition away from 3M™ Novec™ 71IPA, Best Technology offers BestSolv™ 71IPA as a 3M™ Novec™ 71IPA exact molecule replacement, or BestSolv™ Lima as a 3M™ Novec™ 71IPA similar molecule, drop-in replacement, based on the 3M™ announcement of the Novec™ fluid phase out in 2022.

Learn more about the BestSolv™ product line of 3M™ Novec™ replacements.

Properties of 3M™ Novec™ 71IPA vs BestSolv™ 71IPA and BestSolv™ Lima

*Note: Information is provided by Best Technology, not 3M™. 3M™ does not endorse or recommend any alternative material. As such, the customer is responsible for evaluation of the material’s various properties when looking at alternatives.