The Vertrel^® family of products has excellent materials compatibility across almost all of the common materials of construction, including fiber glass, resins, plastics, ceramics, glass and metals. Some of the stronger blends have minor compatibility concerns with soft plastics, such as polycarbonates. (The transparent windows on LCDs, calculators, pagers, palmtop computers and cellphones usually are made from polycarbonates.)

Let's take a look at one detailed example, Vertrel^® XMS Plus. Vertrel^® XMS Plus is one of the most aggressive defluxers in the Vertrel^® family. Yet it is compatible with most of the polymeric materials commonly used for components mounted on printed wiring board assemblies. Acrylic, ABS, and polycarbonate parts, particularly if under stress, may show slight cracking or crazing damage and should be tested. EPDM, butyl rubber, Buna-S, and neoprene are recommended for elastomeric parts.

Gaskets and elastomers will demonstrate some swelling and will, in most cases, revert to within a few percent of original size after air drying. Swell, shrinkage, and extractables are strongly affected by the compounding agents, plasticizers, and curing used in the manufacture of plastics and elastomers. Therefore, thorough testing prior to deployment is particularly important.

Compatible	Polyethylene Acetal
	Polypropylene Epoxy
	Polyester
	PET
	PBT Liquid Crystal Polymer
	Polyimide
	PAI Phenolic
	Polyetherketone
	PEK
	PTFE
	ETFE
	Polyaryletherketone
	PEEK Polyvinylchloride
	Polyarylsulfone
	PAS Chlorinated PVC
	Polyphenylene Sulfide
	PPS Ionomer
	Polysulfone
	Buna N
	Nitrile Buna S
	Butyl Rubber
	Chlorosulfonated PE
	EPM
	EPDM
	Nordel¨ Polysulfide
	Natural Rubber
	Isoprene Neoprene
	Urethane
	Viton® B
	Silicone
Incompatible	Polystyrene ABS
	Polyphenylene Oxide
	PPO Acrylic
	Cellulosic

Vertrel^® XMS Plus also was found compatible with zinc, stainless steel, carbon steel, aluminum, and copper.

Remember that the effect which Vertrel^® can impart may vary depending the material composition such as the compounding agents, plasticizers, processing, etc. Specific materials should be tested for compatibility with solvent.

Contact with highly basic process materials, pH 10 or above, is not recommended.

For details about each particular cleaner, check out the individual product specification.

In short, Vertrel^® specialty fluids are the ideal precision cleaner whenever concerns about materials compatibility arise. These are great replacements for ozone-depleting solvents such as CFC-113, 1,1,1-trichloroethane, HCFC-141b, n-propyl bromide (nPB), HFE solvents and HCFC-225, as well as high-global-warming solvents such as perfluorocarbons (PFCs).

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