What is Apiezon L grease?

Apiezon is manufactured by M&I Materials LIMITED.Apiezon L Grease is a silicone and halogen-free ultra-high vacuum grease suitable for use scientific and industrial applications.

Apiezon L Grease has the best vapour pressure properties of all the Apiezon products and is therefore suitable for use in ultra-high vacuum applications. L Grease is regularly used by highly respected organisations such as The European Space Agency, NASA and NATO.

Apiezon L Grease is designed for use at ambient temperatures (generally between 10 to 30°C / 50 to 86°F). If you are looking for a grease capable of performing at higher temperatures, Apiezon AP101 or Apiezon H Grease may be more appropriate.

What are the properties of Apiezon L grease?

Apiezon L Grease is a silicone and halogen-free ultra-high vacuum grease which:

exhibits an extremely low vapour pressure of 7 x 10-11 Torr at 20°C

does not suffer from contamination problems associated with silicone based greases such as ‘creep’ or ‘carry over’

provides excellent lubrication

is recommended for use at ambient temperatures

has built-in radiation resistance

has powerful ‘gettering’ action, meaning it absorbs potentially harmful grease and chemical impurities on metal and glass surfaces

is easy to clean and remove as it is soluble in hydrocarbon solvents

Available to buy in 25g or 50g tubes.

When should Apiezon L grease be used?

As an ultra-high vacuum grease with excellent lubrication properties and radiation resistance Apiezon L Grease is used for many diverse applications. In particular, L Grease is commonly used in scientific and industrial sealing and lubrication applications.

Apiezon L Grease has been especially formulated to provide excellent lubrication while maintaining an efficient gas seal and is therefore widely used in the manufacture and servicing of high performance vacuum pumps.

Using silicone-free Apiezon L Grease avoids the problems of ‘creep’ and ‘carry over’ which can often lead to sample contamination. Therefore, it is regularly used in analytical techniques such as infrared or mass spectrometry where sample contamination must be avoided.

Similarly, ‘creep’ can cause problems in industrial paint or metal deposition processes as trace amounts of silicone on surfaces can prevent the adherence of paint, leading to poor coverage. When using silicone-free Apiezon L Grease this is not a problem.

As a halogen-free product Apiezon L Grease has a built-in resistance to irradiation. Other high vacuum greases such as esters, silicones or halogenated paraffins decompose at radiation levels of 0.1 MGy or less. In contrast, L Grease maintains excellent lubrication properties in high radiation applications, demonstrating only a small increase in stiffness when irradiated with 4 MeV electrons to 1 MGy.

To find out more about Apiezon L Grease or the Apiezon family of silicone-free high vacuum greases manufactured by M&I Materials Ltd, contact our team of experts available via our helpline and online.

Apiezon L Grease Vapour Pressure Graph

The above is shared with you by Madison Technology Co., Ltd Apiezon L Grease.