| HS Code | 140846 |
| Physical State | Liquid at room temperature |
| Appearance | Clear and transparent liquid |
| Color | Colorless to very light straw |
| Odor | Mild, characteristic organic solvent odor |
| Chemical Composition | High-purity blend of organic solvents selected for electronic/EL grade use |
| Specific Gravity | 0.80–0.95 at 25°C (water = 1) |
| Boiling Point Range | Approximately 140–200°C |
| Flash Point | Above 60°C (closed cup) |
| Evaporation Rate | Slow to moderate; much slower than n-butyl acetate |
| Solubility | Miscible with most organic solvents used in electronic ink formulations |
| Viscosity | Low viscosity, approximately 1–5 cP at 25°C |
| Water Content | Less than 0.1% by weight |
| Non Volatile Residue | Very low residue, typically below 50 ppm |
| Ionic Purity | High purity with low levels of mobile ions such as sodium, potassium, and chloride |
| Electrical Conductivity | Extremely low; suited for electronic and electroluminescent ink thinning applications |
As an accredited Electronic Ink Thinner (DuPont Micromax Special Thinner) Electronic/EL Grade factory, we enforce strict quality protocols—every batch undergoes rigorous testing to ensure consistent efficacy and safety standards.
| Packing | Packaged in a 1-liter amber glass bottle with a tight-sealing safety cap, labeled with hazard warnings for electronic/EL grade use. |
| Container Loading (20′ FCL) | 20′ FCL loading: electronic-grade thinner in sealed drums/pails, secured upright, ventilated container, no incompatibles, proper labels and DG documentation. |
| Shipping | This chemical ships ground only due to its flammable classification, with no air or expedited options. It is packaged in sealed, UN-approved containers with hazard labels, leak-proof protection, and absorbent material. Signature required upon delivery. Ensure recipient complies with local storage and handling regulations for electronic-grade solvents. |
| Storage | Store Electronic Ink Thinner (DuPont Micromax Special Thinner, Electronic/EL Grade) in its original, tightly sealed container in a cool, dry, well-ventilated area away from sunlight, heat, sparks, and open flames. Keep segregated from strong oxidizers and incompatible materials. Ensure container is upright and protected from physical damage, with appropriate labeling and access restricted to authorized personnel. |
| Shelf Life | Shelf life is typically 12 months from manufacture when stored sealed in the original container, away from heat and ignition sources. |
In high-reliability thick-film hybrid microcircuit production on 96% Al₂O₃ substrates, DuPont Micromax Special Thinner is introduced only after initial paste roll-down and viscosity verification, because the organics package of Au/Pt/Pd conductor pastes is formulated around a narrow solvent-evaporation window. Military and aerospace hybrid lines maintain process documentation under MIL-PRF-38534K, and incoming paste lots are released per ASTM D2196-20 rotational viscometry at 25 °C; thinner addition is limited to 1.0–4.0 wt% of total paste mass, added in 0.5 wt% increments with a 60 s post-addition mix at 5 rpm. Production screen printing on 325-mesh stainless steel screens with 12.5 µm emulsion thickness and 45 µm wire diameter typically runs at 100–180 mm/s squeegee speed, 75 Shore A durometer, 0.4–0.6 mm snap-off, and 0.2–0.4 kg/cm² squeegee pressure. Wet films are dried at 150 °C for 10–15 min and fired in a belt furnace at 850 °C peak for 10 min. The downstream components are hermetically sealed hybrid circuits, DC-DC converter modules, engine-control resistor networks, and medical electronic assemblies where wire-bond pad integrity and line width control are critical. Over-thinning above 4.0 wt% produces slumping at pad edges and a measurable increase in line width variability; under-thinning below 1.0 wt% causes screen clogging on outer rows of the screen where solvent loss is highest. The thinner is not intended for water-borne or amine-solubilized paste systems because solvent partitioning in such formulations causes phase separation and viscosity drift.
The lower thinning limit is governed less by solvent compatibility and more by the paste’s shear recovery signature. Automotive exhaust gas sensor firing lines using Pt/PtPd pastes on 96% Al₂O₃ substrates typically operate under IATF 16949:2016 production part approval requirements and require that thinner addition remain within 1.0–2.5 wt% of paste mass; below 1.0 wt%, 325-mesh screens exhibit frequent aperture plugging because the paste cannot re-wet after the flood stroke, while above 2.5 wt% the thixotropic recovery time after snap-off is insufficient to preserve printed edge fidelity. The paste is printed at 70–120 mm/s with a 75 Shore A squeegee at 45° attack angle, 0.5 mm snap-off, and 0.20–0.35 kg/cm² pressure; wet deposits are dried at 120 °C for 10 min and fired at 850–950 °C peak, with belt speed adjusted to 45–65 mm/min to prevent solvent boil-out defects in lines narrower than 100 µm. Finished parts include zirconia-based oxygen sensors, exhaust gas temperature sensors, and NOx sensor heater elements. Published data for exact recovery-rate thresholds at 2.5 wt% thinner loading in this specific PtPd paste configuration is limited; production qualification therefore uses a three-paste-lot design-of-experiment with two mesh types, and lot acceptance is based on fired line width delta rather than only Brookfield viscosity.
Via-fill pastes for low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) stacks diverge from planar conductor pastes because the thinner must facilitate aperture release without collapsing the filled via after stencil separation. In LTCC lines qualified to ISO 9001:2015, clause 8.5.1, and customer-specific RF qualification, the thinner is metered into Ag or Au via-fill paste at 2.0–4.0 wt% of paste mass; the addition is made only after paste conditioning for 20 min on a three-roll mill to reset thixotropy. Stencil printing of 100–200 µm vias uses a 50–80 µm stencil thickness, 0.15–0.25 MPa squeegee pressure, 70 Shore A squeegee, and 20–30 mm/s stroke speed, followed by a vacuum hold at 0.8–1.2 kPa for 30 s to remove entrapped solvent before lamination. Lamination at 70 °C and 20 MPa is followed by co-firing at 850 °C peak for 10 min. Over-thinning above 4.0 wt% produces via collapse and void formation after co-firing; under-thinning below 2.0 wt% results in incomplete aperture release and high visual defect rates under 30× inspection. Terminal components include multilayer RF filters, 5G antenna-in-package substrates, automotive radar modules, and high-density ceramic multichip modules.
Electroluminescent lamp deposition on 100 µm indium tin oxide-coated polyethylene terephthalate substrates requires a thinner whose evaporation window is low enough to avoid substrate distortion and high enough to prevent phosphor settling during screen flooding. EL-grade formulations for aviation and automotive interior lighting are typically qualified to RoHS Directive 2011/65/EU, Annex II, and flammability provisions of FAR 25.853(a) when installed in aircraft, with thinner addition in the 3.0–6.0 wt% range for phosphor and dielectric pastes; addition is performed in 1.0 wt% increments and verified by ASTM D2196-20 at 25 °C. Screen printing uses 180–230 mesh polyester monofilament screens, 65 Shore A squeegee, 35–45 N squeegee force, and 1.0–1.5 mm snap-off on a flexible substrate carrier. Drying is constrained to 60–80 °C for 20–30 min in forced air because PET dimensional stability degrades above 100 °C. The finished products are EL instrument panel backlights, emergency egress lighting strips, wearable safety panels, and night-vision-compatible cockpit lighting. Excessive thinning above 6.0 wt% causes phosphor particle settling within the screen flood zone, producing luminance non-uniformity; insufficient thinning below 3.0 wt% leads to mesh clogging on the dielectric layer print.
When 600-series stainless steel mesh is used for automotive silver conductor printing on glazed ceramic, the thinner must compensate for the lower ink transfer efficiency of high-tension coarse mesh while avoiding solvent attack on the glaze interface. Automotive thick-film heater and defogger circuits on barium titanate or alumina substrates are produced under IATF 16949:2016 production part approval requirements and validated to ISO 16750-4 thermal cycling; thinner addition is limited to 1.0–3.0 wt% of total paste mass, introduced after paste roll-down and before mesh loading. Printing uses 200–250 mesh stainless steel screens, 75 Shore A squeegee, 0.3–0.5 mm snap-off, 80–130 mm/s speed, and 0.2–0.3 kg/cm² pressure. Deposits are dried at 150 °C for 10 min and fired at 850 °C peak for 10 min, with belt speed 50–70 mm/min. Finished components include positive-temperature-coefficient heater modules, defogger heater traces on glass-ceramic, exhaust preheater elements, and thick-film resistance heating plates for diesel cold-start systems. If thinner addition exceeds 3.0 wt%, the fired film thickness drops below 8 µm and sheet resistance shifts beyond the ±10% lot limit; below 1.0 wt%, mesh transfer drops and opens appear most frequently on outer screen edges.
The flood stroke in high-volume resistor network printing serves as the primary solvent-loss boundary because the thin paste film left after print is continuously re-exposed to ambient air before the next stroke. Precision thick-film resistor pastes for R-C networks are processed under AEC-Q200 passive component stress-test qualification and ISO 9001:2015, clause 8.5.1; thinner addition is narrower than for conductor pastes, held to 0.5–2.0 wt% of paste mass, with additions made only in 0.25 wt% steps to avoid resistance drift. Production cells run 200–250 mesh screens, 10 µm emulsion over mesh, 75 Shore A squeegee, 0.4 mm snap-off, and 70–150 mm/s print speed, with ambient relative humidity controlled to 40–60% RH because higher humidity slows solvent release and creates post-fire carbon residue at 850 °C peak firing. Substrates are pre-dried at 150 °C for 60 min when ambient RH exceeds 60%, and resistors are fired at 850 °C for 10 min in a belt furnace with peak-zone belt speed 55 mm/min. Terminal products are precision resistor networks, surface-mount R-C arrays, and custom hybrid resistor packs for industrial instrumentation. Thinner addition above 2.0 wt% reduces fired resistor thickness below 10 µm and shifts temperature coefficient of resistance outside the qualified window; below 0.5 wt%, paste viscosity during long runs above 4 h increases enough to generate high sheet-resistance outliers.
| Application lane | Industry compliance anchor | Addition ratio | Process limit | Terminal product type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thick-film hybrid microcircuits | MIL-PRF-38534K; ASTM D2196-20 | 1.0–4.0 wt% | 325 mesh; 850 °C peak firing | Hermetic DC-DC converters, resistor networks, chip-and-wire hybrid circuits |
| Pt/PtPd exhaust gas sensors | IATF 16949:2016; ASTM D2196-20 | 1.0–2.5 wt% | 250–325 mesh; 850–950 °C peak firing | Oxygen sensors, NOx sensors, exhaust gas temperature sensors |
| LTCC via fill | ISO 9001:2015 clause 8.5.1 | 2.0–4.0 wt% | 100–200 µm vias; 850 °C co-fire | RF filters, radar modules, antenna-in-package substrates, multichip modules |
| Electroluminescent lamps | RoHS 2011/65/EU Annex II; FAR 25.853(a) | 3.0–6.0 wt% | 60–80 °C drying on PET | EL backlights, egress lighting strips, wearable safety panels, cockpit lighting |
| Automotive silver conductors | IATF 16949:2016; ISO 16750-4 | 1.0–3.0 wt% | 200–250 mesh; 850 °C peak firing | PTC heater modules, defogger traces, exhaust preheaters, heating plates |
| Resistor networks | AEC-Q200; ISO 9001:2015 clause 8.5.1 | 0.5–2.0 wt% | 40–60% RH; 850 °C peak firing | Precision resistor networks, surface-mount R-C arrays, hybrid resistor packs |
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DuPont Micromax Special Thinner, Electronic/EL Grade, is a formulated solvent blend used for viscosity adjustment of thick-film pastes within the DuPont Micromax product family, particularly those printed in electroluminescent lamp, membrane touch switch, RFID antenna, and automotive glass defogger applications. The material is supplied as a filtered, low-moisture liquid with a narrow distillation profile. Certificate-of-analysis documentation reports density according to ASTM D4052, kinematic viscosity according to ASTM D445, nonvolatile residue according to ASTM D1353, and water content by ASTM D1364. The product is not a universal solvent; it is designed to be added directly to the host paste in small increments without disrupting the thixotropic structure of the paste.
On the production floor, the thinner is used to correct viscosity drift caused by solvent evaporation from open screen-printing reservoirs. Evaporation rates increase in low-humidity or high-airflow cleanrooms; a paste that begins a shift at its target viscosity may exceed the upper control limit within 2–3 h when printed through a 230 mesh stainless-steel screen at ambient temperatures above 24°C. The thinner is dispensed through a grounded stainless-steel pump or by manual transfer from a conductive pail with bonding clamps. Users should not return unused thinned paste to the original paste container because the thinner addition changes the lot-specific solids content and may compromise downstream electrical properties.
On flatbed screen printers equipped with 230–280 mesh stainless-steel screens and 75 Shore A polyurethane squeegees, evaporation from the paste film during continuous print runs typically raises viscosity by 5–15% per shift depending on ambient temperature and airflow across the screen. The response is observed as increasing mesh clogging, uneven wet-layer thickness, and slower leveling after squeegee passage. Correction with DuPont Micromax Special Thinner is performed by adding the liquid in metered increments of 0.5 wt% of the paste mass, mixing at 20–30 rpm in a dual-orbital planetary mixer under a fume extraction hood, and re-measuring viscosity at 25°C with a rotational viscometer using the spindle and speed specified on the paste datasheet.
Over-addition below the lower control limit is a known failure mode. In a production environment using 40 cm-wide print beds and a 2.5 mm snap-off distance, overdilution has been documented to reduce dry-film thickness below 5 µm and produce edge bleed in fine-line silver conductor patterns. Operators are instructed to add thinner only after agitation of the source paste, to avoid solvent pooling on the paste surface, and to maintain a log of cumulative thinner additions. The maximum cumulative addition is normally limited to 5 wt% unless a written deviation is approved; beyond that limit, rheological additives in the paste may not sustain thixotropic recovery, and fired electrical properties may shift.
Rheological qualification is performed using a controlled-stress rotational rheometer with a 40 mm parallel-plate fixture at 25°C. A typical Micromax silver paste before thinning shows a viscosity of 20–40 Pa·s at a shear rate of 10 s⁻¹ and a thixotropic index greater than 3.0 when the ratio of viscosity at 1 s⁻¹ to 10 s⁻¹ is calculated. Thinner addition of 0.5 wt% typically reduces viscosity by 5–10%, but the exact response depends on the resin system and pigment loading of the specific paste lot. Published data for the exact response of every Micromax paste to this thinner is limited; therefore, a qualification run is performed on each paste lot before production use.
Batch-to-batch variance in solvent demand has been observed across Micromax paste lots because of variations in the specific surface area of the inorganic filler. Lots with a higher submicronic particle fraction require more thinner to reach the same print viscosity. Operators should review the paste manufacturer’s certificate of analysis for the particle size or surface area entry and record the cumulative thinner addition per lot; an increase above the historical mean by more than 25% may indicate a defective paste shipment or improper storage.
Commodity thinners such as technical-grade terpineol, butyl carbitol acetate, or mineral spirits contain uncontrolled ionic species, dissolved metals, and high-boiling residues. When such solvents are introduced into a thick-film paste, the post-fire residue can remain in the dielectric or conductor layer. The electronic/EL-grade material is differentiated by lot-release testing for nonvolatile residue after a defined evaporation cycle, typically conducted according to ASTM D1353 or equivalent gravimetric procedures. Residue values below 0.01 wt% are commonly required for electronic-grade thinners in this class; products for general-purpose paint thinning are not released to this limit. The DuPont Micromax Special Thinner is also filtered to remove particulate matter that would otherwise form pinholes in thin electroluminescent dielectric films.
Ionic contamination is characterized by conductivity measurement after dilution in high-purity water under ASTM D1125 or equivalent. Chloride and sulfate traces are determined according to ASTM D512 and ASTM D516. The solvent system is supplied with a low moisture content measured by Karl Fischer coulometry to prevent hydrolysis of moisture-sensitive binders in ceramic-filled pastes. The following table summarizes the primary control parameters and their reference methods.
| Control parameter | Reference method or regulation | Typical verification point |
|---|---|---|
| Density at 20°C | ASTM D4052 | Certificate of analysis |
| Kinematic viscosity at 25°C | ASTM D445 | Incoming quality control |
| Nonvolatile residue | ASTM D1353 | Lot release |
| Water content | ASTM D1364 | Incoming quality control |
| Trace chlorides and sulfates | ASTM D512 / ASTM D516 | Certificate of analysis or external laboratory |
| EU RoHS restrictions | Directive 2011/65/EU Annex II | Supplier declaration |
| REACH SVHC content | Regulation 1907/2006/EC | Supplier safety data sheet Section 15 |
| Filter retention rating | Supplier specification | Certificate of conformance |
In electroluminescent lamp production, the thinner is used to adjust the printing rheology of phosphor-loaded dielectric and rear silver conductor layers. A typical EL stack includes a transparent indium tin oxide electrode on polyethylene terephthalate, a phosphor layer printed at 25–35 µm dry thickness, a barium titanate-loaded dielectric layer at 20–30 µm dry thickness, and a silver rear electrode at 15–25 µm dry thickness. Evaporation of the thinner during drying is designed to proceed without leaving a high-boiling plasticizer fraction that would soften the polyester substrate. Drying tunnels operating at 80–120°C with forced air are commonly used; the thinner’s flash point and evaporation profile require that the drying zone maintain solvent vapor concentration below the lower explosive limit, with LEL monitoring installed on the tunnel exhaust.
Mesh selection for EL-grade pastes normally falls between 180 and 305 threads per inch with a 10–20 µm capillary film emulsion. Thinner additions are made when the paste fails to completely release from the mesh or when squeegee drag marks remain after leveling. The paste is printed at a snap-off distance of 1.5–2.5 mm and a squeegee speed of 50–150 mm/s. These values represent general process settings for thick-film and EL screen printing; they are not substitution for the lot-specific datasheet.
Thermal processing of electroluminescent layers imposes a narrow window because the polyester substrate degrades above 120°C. Drying profiles are therefore designed so that the first zone remains below 90°C to prevent microbubbling in the wet dielectric layer, while the final zone approaches 120°C only for rapid solvent removal. If the thinner evaporates too slowly due to humid ambient conditions above 60% RH, the residual solvent can plasticize the dielectric and reduce breakdown voltage. Conversely, rapid evaporation at low relative humidity can cause skinning and reduce interlayer adhesion. Production lines in high-humidity environments pre-dry the paste and substrate and may add a dehumidified supply air circuit to the print room.
Compared with technical-grade terpineol, the DuPont Micromax Special Thinner produces a lower nonvolatile residue after the same simulated drying cycle. In side-by-side gravimetric tests on aluminum pans heated to 150°C for 60 min, electronic/EL-grade thinners of this class typically leave a residue below 0.01 wt%, while commodity terpineol may leave 0.1–0.5 wt% due to high-boiling isomers and oxidation products. The thinner is also differentiated by lower ionic contribution; a 10 wt% dilution of the electronic-grade material in high-purity water shows conductivity below the threshold associated with ionic contamination in printed dielectric layers. For exact lot-specific values, the certificate of analysis governs.
Compared with acetates such as butyl carbitol acetate, the DuPont Micromax Special Thinner is intended to match the solvent demand of the Micromax paste resin system more closely. Use of a non-DuPont acetate thinner can shift the solubility parameter of the continuous phase and reduce the paste’s thixotropic recovery after screen printing, leading to edge slump and line width growth. The EL-grade thinner is supplied with a narrow distillation profile rather than as a wide-cut aromatic blend. This allows more repeatable drying profiles on multi-stage tunnel dryers, particularly where the first zone temperature must remain below 90°C to prevent microbubbling in a wet dielectric layer.
| Attribute | Electronic/EL-grade thinner | Commodity thinner |
|---|---|---|
| Filtration at packaging | 0.5 µm or finer absolute-rated membrane | Not typically filtered to the same retention rating |
| Nonvolatile residue control | Lot-release gravimetric testing per ASTM D1353 | Not released to electronic-grade residue limits |
| Ionic contamination testing | Conductivity, chloride, and sulfate methods referenced above | Generally uncontrolled for printed-layer use |
| Compatibility with Micromax paste rheology | Formulated for small-increment viscosity adjustment | May cause phase separation or thixotropic collapse |
| Intended use | Thinning screen-printable electronic and EL inks | General-purpose thinning or surface cleaning |
The product is stored in tightly closed containers at 5–30°C and protected from direct sunlight. Containers should be purged with dry nitrogen after opening if the remaining volume will be stored longer than 72 h; moisture uptake into the thinner can alter the water content specification and induce viscosity drift in water-sensitive ceramic-filled pastes. Dispensing is performed through a grounded stainless-steel pump or by manual transfer using a conductive container and bonding clamps. The flash point of the solvent blend is expected to fall within the flammable liquid range under OSHA 29 CFR 1910.106, so local exhaust ventilation and storage in a flammable-liquid cabinet are required.
Do not combine the thinner with amine-based additives or oxidizing acids; the solvent system can react under elevated storage temperatures to generate heat and pressure. Avoid contact with strong reducing agents and sources of ignition. When the thinner is used in closed-circuit screen-printer solvent reservoirs, the reservoir lid should remain sealed except during controlled additions. Spent thinner and paste-thinner mixtures should be collected as hazardous waste under applicable waste codes for ignitable solvents, typically D001 under 40 CFR 261.21 if the flash point is below 60°C. Empty containers retain residues and should be managed as hazardous waste unless the supplier provides a closed-loop return program.
Incoming quality control includes viscosity, density, water content, and particle count for each lot. A liquid particle counter with a 0.5 µm channel is used to verify that the packaged product meets the filtration specification. If particle counts exceed the control limit, the lot is segregated and the screen-printing operation is paused to prevent mesh occlusion and pinhole defects in electroluminescent layers. The product designation on the label is DuPont Micromax Special Thinner, Electronic/EL Grade; the safety data sheet reports the DuPont product code in Section 1. Because the material is a formulated mixture, no single CAS registry number identifies the product. Ingredient-specific CAS numbers are provided in Section 3 of the safety data sheet.
