Specialty Pump Oil / Grease

Krytox® performance lubricants are the products of choice for applications where complete nonflammability, oxygen compatibility, and resistance to aggressive chemicals are requirements. These synthetic lubricants provide superior performance and extended life as lubricants and sealants.

 

xtronix caters to a variety of vacuum and non-vacuum applications with different grades of Krytox® oils and greases. We have addressed aerospace related markets, high voltage industrial applications, paper mills, tribology applications in clean room environments, and many others.

An important area of use for Krytox® relates to vacuum-based applications:

• Vacuum pumps, where safety is critical
• Hostile environments, where semiconductor process chemicals can attack most other lubricants
• Vacuum system valves, seals, bearings and connectors, where low vapor pressure, outgassing, and contamination are intolerable

Benefits
Krytox® performance lubricants for vacuum systems are reliable, cost-effective, and safe in all environments. Even in the most chemically severe environments, Krytox® oils and greases are:

• Superior lubricants offering thermal stability over a wide range of temperatures
• Chemically inert; non-reactive to all elastomers, metals, plastics, and process chemicals
• Nonflammable
• Insoluble
• Resistant to aggressive chemicals
• Recyclable (oils only - customers with large annual consumptions contact xtronix)
• Long-lasting, improving performance and extending the life of components
• Low vapor pressure to reduce or eliminate outgassing and contamination
• Available in a diverse portfolio of products to perform dependably, regardless of your system's operating conditions

Selection of the best lubricant involves analyzing your operating conditions and choosing from the many synthetic and petroleum based products. Most petroleum products begin to degrade before 99°C (210°F) and cease turning at temperatures just below -18°C (0°F). Krytox® synthetic lubricants have operating ranges from <-70 to >316°C (<-94 to 600°F) (see tables below).

 

Krytox® Oils and Greases offer a unique combination of properties that provide exceptional, yet cost-effective solutions to your most difficult lubrication problems. Compared to other lubricants, only Krytox® Oils and Greases combine high-temperature performance, non-flammability, and chemical inertness under a variety of conditions. Krytox® Oils and Greases increase the service life of critical components, allowing equipment manufactures to extend warranties, and manufacturing plants to reduce costly maintenance due to component failure. Krytox® Oils and Greases are exceptional lubricants that provide superior protection and load-carrying ability under the most severe conditions. They are especially suited for use in 100% liquid or gaseous oxygen services.

 

Vacuum Pump Fluids

Krytox® Vacuum Pump Fluids (VPF) are used in applications where conventional vacuum pump oils cause safety, waste disposal and maintenance problems. They are nonflammable and eliminate the chance of fire in pumps. They are non-reactive and safe to use in oxygen systems. They can replace any competitive PFPE fluid as well as any other type of vacuum fluid. Krytox® fluids do not contain acetal groups, which are susceptible to attack by Lewis acids (see PDF datasheet). This gives Krytox® superior stability as a vacuum pump fluid. Krytox® VPF fluids are precisely distilled to provide low vapor pressures and give superior performance (see PDF datasheet). In addition, Krytox® fluids are recyclable.

 

High Vacuum Greases
A special low-vapour-pressure Krytox® oil is used to formulate a grease for high-vacuum applications.  Krytox® greases are an excellent choice for lubricants or sealants used in all vacuum environments, especially when access for repair or replacement is difficult or impossible.

Low vapor pressure greases offer:

• Less than 1x10^-13 torr. vapor pressure at 20°C (68°F)
• Less than 1x10^-5 torr. vapor pressure at 200°C (392°F)

Composition
Krytox® is a PerFluoroPolyEther (PFPE)--also called PerFluoroAlkylEther (PFAE) or PerFluoroPolyAlkylEther (PFPAE). Krytox® fluorinated oils are a series of low molecular weight, fluorine end-capped, homopolymers of hexafluoropropylene epoxide.

 

Krytox® oils' unique properties are derived from its fluorinated structure. This structure, polyhexafluoropropylene oxide, is an extraordinary fluorinated ether and yields a highly lubricious liquid with extremely low volatility. This polymer is represented in the graphic below. It consists of a carbon (gray) and oxygen (red) ether backbone. This provides a flexible platform onto which the fluorines (green) are attached. The fluorine is responsible for providing the thermal and chemical stability ideal for use in severe environments. Krytox® oil is insoluble in water, acids, bases, and all common organic solvents and is nontoxic.

 

 

The polymer chain is completely saturated and contains only the elements carbon, oxygen, and fluorine; hydrogen is not present. On a weight basis, a typical Krytox® oil contains 21.6% carbon, 9.4% oxygen, and 69.0% fluorine.

 

The Chemical Abstracts Index name for Krytox® fluorinated oils is oxirane, trifluoro (trifluoromethyl), homopolymer and the CAS Registry Number is 60164-51-4.

Table 1 Krytox® Vacuum Pump Fluids*
Test				Krytox®
Property	Method	Conditions	Units	1506 1506XP	1514 1514XP	1525 1525XP	1531 1531XP	1618	16256
Average Molecular Weight	NMR			2160	2840	3470	3100	3130	9400
Vapor Pressure**	Knudsen	20°C	torr	4x10-7	2x10-7	1x10-7	1x10-7	5x10-9	3x10-14
		50°C		1x10-5	3x10-6	1x10-6	1x10-6	2x10-7	2x10-12
		100°C		1x10-3	1x10-4	3x10-5	3x10-5	2x10-5	1x10-9
		200°C		5x10-1	1x10-2	2x10-3	2x10-3	1x10-2	2x10-6
Kinematic Viscosity	ASTM D445	20°C	mm2/s (centistokes)	60	140	250	310	180	2560
		50°C		15.5	32	52	63	39	437
		100°C		4.1	7.2	10.6	12.5	8.4	64.6
Density		20°C	g/cm3	1.88	1.89	1.90	1.90	1.89	1.92
		50°C		1.82	1.83	1.84	1.84	1.83	1.87
		100°C		1.73	1.74	1.75	1.75	1.74	1.78
		200°C		1.54	1.55	1.56	1.56	1.55	1.61
Pour Point	ASTM D97		°C	-60	-54	-48	-41	-40	-15
Distillation Range at 0.4 torr	ASTM D1160	10%	°C	160	200	200	200	210	NA
		90%		220	280	300	300	280	NA
Heat of Vaporization	Knudsen	150 to 250°C	cal/g	9	7	6	6	7	NA
Volatility at 22 hrs	ASTM D972	121°C	%	6.5	1.3	0.6	0.4	0.3	0.2
Surface Tension		25°C	dynes/cm	17	18	19	19	18	19
Operating range °C				-65 +145	-60 +165	-51 +200	NA	-50 +180	NA
*This table gives typical properties based on historical production performance. DuPont does not make any express or implied warranty that these products will continue to have these typical properties. **Actual values are equal to or less than those indicated.
Krytox® 1500 Vacuum Pump Fluids are now available with antirust protection. The new fluids are called 1506XP, 1514XP, 1525XP and 1531XP. They have all of the same properties of the standard fluids listed above. Krytox® XP oils contain a soluble additive to prevent rust. This new patented additive enhances the performance of Krytox® VPF fluids, giving them improved performance properties. The long-term antirust properties repel moisture, providing extra protection from corrosion of metal parts and bearing surfaces.   While Krytox® VPF fluids are inert and nonreactive to all elastomers, plastics, and metals, the soluble additives in the XP products are new and have not been tested with all materials. It is possible that some reactivity and damage could occur to some materials. Initial testing has shown no problems with Teflon®, Kalrex®, Viton®, nitrile, and silicone rubbers. There is some reactivity of the additive with copper, but it is less with brass. These additives could have degradation of performance at elevated temperatures over 175°C (347°F) over a long period of time. Download datasheet here for 1500 & 1600 fluids

 

Table 2 Krytox® LVP High-Vacuum Grease*
Penetration (worked, 25°C), mm/10	280
NLGI Consistency Grade	2
Vapor Pressure,
torr at 20°C	<1.0 x 10-13
torr at 200°C	<1.0 x 10-5
kPa at 20°C	<1.3 x 10-14
kPa at 200°C	<1.3 x 10-6
Oil Separation (30 hrs, 204°C), wt%	13.8
Evaporation Loss, (22 hrs, 204°C), wt%	0.3
Density, (25°C), g/cm3	1.94
Operating range in degrees Celsius	-36°C to +288°C
*This table gives typical properties based on historical production performance. DuPont does not make any express or implied warranty that these products will continue to have these typical properties.   Download datasheet here for LVP grease

 

Krytox® is a DuPont trade name.

Other Specialty Vacuum Oil & Grease

 

xtronix stocks:

• Santovac 5^® oil for mass spectrometers, leak detectors & Electron Microscopes 
• XT-704 & XT-705 silicon oil for diffusion pumps
• Silicon-based High Vacuum Grease for ground glassware