SF 7100™ Engineered Fluid:
The 3M™ Novec™ 7100 Replacement
Standard Fluids™ SF 7100™ Engineered Fluid is an isomeric drop-in replacement for Novec™ 7100, produced by the team that developed the original Novec™ product line at 3M™. Whether you’re switching an existing process off Novec™ 7100 or specifying a new fluid for a cleaning process, it holds to the same specification, no revalidation required.
SF 7100™ vs. Novec™ 7100
| Property | Novec™ 7100 | SF 7100™ |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical name | Methoxy-nonafluorobutane | Methoxy-nonafluorobutane |
| CAS number | 163702-08-7 / 163702-07-6 | 163702-08-7 / 163702-07-6 |
| Molecular weight | 250 g/mol | 250 g/mol |
| Boiling Point | 61°C | 61°C |
| Freezing Point | -135°C | -135°C |
| Liquid Density | 1.51 g/mL | 1.51 g/mL |
| Kinematic viscosity | 0.38 cSt | 0.38 cSt |
| Surface tension | 13.6 mN/m | 13.6 mN/m |
| Dielectric strength, liquid | >25 kV | >25 kV |
| Vapor pressure | 27 kPa | 27 kPa |
| Water solubility | 95 ppm by wt | 95 ppm by wt |
| Flash point | None | None |
| Autoignition temperature | 405°C | 405°C |
| ODP | 0 | 0 |
| GWP | 297 | 297 |
How SF 7100™ Engineered Fluid Cleans Precision Components
Like other hydrofluoroether cleaning fluids, SF 7100 fluid’s low surface tension allows it to dissolve and lift contamination from surfaces water alone can’t reach. Here’s how that happens in a typical vapor degreasing process:
1. Clean
SF 7100 fluid is used undiluted for light-duty soils, as an azeotrope for medium-duty jobs, or as a co-solvent for heavier contamination. Its 13.6 mN/m surface tension carries it into tight tolerances and complex geometries aqueous cleaning can't reach, dissolving flux, oils, and particulates on contact.
2. Vapor Rinse
Once the part is clean, the fluid boils in the sump. Vapor rises until it reaches the primary condensing coils, which condense it back to liquid and hold the vapor zone at a stable level throughout the cycle. Contaminants left in the sump don't vaporize with it, so the vapor rinsing the part is continuously distilled, pure regardless of how dirty the sump has become.
3. Dry
A part entering that vapor zone is cooler than the vapor, so fluid condenses on its surface. As the part's temperature rises to match the vapor's, that condensed film re-vaporizes back into the zone, leaving the part dry with nothing to wipe or air-dry.
Facilities in electronics assembly typically confirm the result with Resistivity Of Solvent Extract (ROSE) testing. Results outside accepted limits prompt further analysis to identify the source before the cleaning process gets adjusted.
Quality You Can Trace Back to Every Shipment
Every drum of SF 7100 fluid is manufactured under an ISO 9001-certified framework, backed by a per-shipment Certificate of Analysis from an independent third-party laboratory. It’s also TSCA compliant and EPA SNAP approved as an acceptable substitute for ozone-depleting solvents.
Standard Fluids™ was founded by the scientists and engineers who built the original 3M™ Novec™ quality standard, and SF 7100 fluid is tested against that same methodology, including:
- Purity: confirms the batch matches its HFE-7100 molecular specification
- Acidity: confirms free acid content stays low enough that it won’t corrode the tanks, pumps, or seals in a cleaning or degreasing system
- Water content: confirms dissolved moisture stays within spec, since excess water affects drying performance and dielectric strength
- Stability: confirms the fluid holds its properties through drum storage over time
Where SF 7100™ Fluid Is Used
SF 7100™ fluid is specified wherever a process cannot tolerate what conventional cleaning leaves behind. What that failure costs depends on the industry:
- Electronics manufacturing, where flux residue and ionic contamination under fine-pitch components can cause failures long after the board ships
- Semiconductor fabrication, where ion implanters and etchers can’t tolerate contamination introduced by the cleaning process itself
- Aerospace and defense, where avionics and guidance systems are held to MIL-spec limits with zero tolerance for residue
- Medical devices, where residue carried into sterilization can compromise the entire process
- Optics, where a scratched or clouded lens fails the optical spec it was ground to meet
- Archival preservation, where a solvent strong enough to lift contamination can just as easily strip the substrate underneath it
SF 7100™ Fluid Frequently Asked Questions
Standard Fluids™ SF 7100™ Engineered Fluid is a hydrofluoroether, HFE-7100, methoxy-nonafluoroisobutane. SF 7100 fluid is an isomeric match to Novec™ 7100 under CAS number 163702-08-7. It's a clear, low-odor, non-flammable fluid with a 61°C boiling point.
A hydrofluoroether, or HFE, is a fully fluorinated carbon chain bonded through an ether oxygen to an ordinary methyl group. The fluorinated half gives the fluid its non-flammability and stability. The methyl half's carbon-hydrogen bond gives atmospheric hydroxyl radicals a site to break the molecule down, rather than let it persist indefinitely the way a fully fluorinated compound would.
Yes. As a drying agent, it displaces water off parts after an aqueous wash, evaporating completely without a separate drying step. As a carrier solvent, it deposits thin, even lubricant films on small mechanical assemblies, then evaporates, leaving just the lubricant behind. It also functions as a heat transfer fluid.
Yes. It has no flash point and an autoignition temperature of 405°C, so it won't ignite under normal handling. It's also electrically non-conductive, safe for direct contact with energized boards during cleaning or cooling. Its exposure guideline runs to 750 ppm over an 8-hour average, one of the better toxicological profiles in this fluid category.
Material compatibility is broad, it works with most metals and hard polymers. Soft elastomers and heavily plasticized rubbers need a compatibility check first, since HFEs can extract plasticizers from some rubber formulations over repeated exposure, causing swelling or embrittlement.
SF 7100 fluid is TSCA compliant, reviewed and registered under U.S. federal chemical regulation. It's also EPA SNAP-approved as an acceptable substitute for ozone-depleting solvents.
By chemical definition, yes. The PFAS classification is based on carbon-fluorine bonds, and hydrofluoroethers like SF 7100 fluid contain them. SF 7100 fluid differs from persistent PFAS like PFOS and PFOA because it does not partition to water, does not bioaccumulate, breaks down naturally, and has a low global warming potential.
Those compounds are fully fluorinated with no carbon-hydrogen bond, so atmospheric oxidants have nothing to react with, and they persist for decades. SF 7100 fluid's carbon-hydrogen bond gives atmospheric hydroxyl radicals a site to react with instead, breaking the molecule down over roughly four years, a fraction of a legacy PFC's lifetime.
Want to go deeper on PFAS classification?
Download our fluorochemist's guide to what PFAS actually means →
Yes, SF 7100 fluid is a drop-in replacement. It's molecularly identical to Novec™ 7100 with matching boiling point, viscosity, and dielectric strength.
Full revalidation usually isn't necessary. Most facilities can treat the switch as a minor-change validation instead of a full process requalification.
Yes! The two are miscible; therefore, it is not necessary to drain your system. You can simply top it off.purity rather than running a blend.
Contact the Standard Fluids team directly. We'll confirm availability, provide technical documentation, and help validate SF 7100 fluid against your current process.
Talk to Our Engineered Fluids Team
Standard Fluids’ engineers helped write the original Novec™ 7100 quality benchmark at 3M™, and every batch of SF 7100 fluid is still held to that standard today. Whether your process needs an exact molecular match or a high-performing alternative, our team can help.