Talk:Isopropyl alcohol/Archive 1

Isopropyl alcohol
Are there pure undiluted versions for sale to clean computer parts? Would the regular rubbing alcohol pharmacy brand work fine for say, getting the thermal grease between the heatsink and processor cleaned off?


 * Yes there is. The regular alcohol sold in pharmacies is not recommended for cleaning computer parts, because the percentage of water may lead to oxidation and corrosion. Best would be "pure" Isopropyl alcohol, also sold in pharmacies, which has less than 1% of water in it. Khullah 17:34, 27 May 2007 (UTC)

Non-azeotropic distillation?
This paragraph is confusing: "Isopropyl alcohol forms an azeotrope with water at 87.4% alcohol. It is impossible to dehydrate isopropanol further using non-azeotropic distillation. For this reason, more expensive means, such as using a drying agent, are necessary for production of 100% isopropyl alcohol."

I wasn't aware that there was such a thing as "non-azeotropic distillation". There's azeotropic distillation. All simple alcohols form azeotropes and need to be combined with a drying agent to be concentrated to 100%. If nobody objects, I'm just going to change the text. --Rhombus 04:00, 23 March 2006 (UTC)


 * Nice improvement, Rhombus, thanks! (I presume the author meant "without recourse to a third solvent that allows the azeotropic removal of water as a separate phase" but they can be forgiven for not writing that!).  We have a lot of overly technical phrases in the Wikipedia science articles that make it hard for non-experts to understand. You explained the situation in plain English, thanks a lot! Walkerma 04:38, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

High?
Is it possible to get 'high' off this, like, by inhaling it? 88.109.219.212 00:49, 17 May 2007 (UTC)

Food Use
I understand that IPA is permitted in the EU as a solvent for food colourings (I have personally seen E102 solution in IPA sold as yellow colouring). Is this worth adding to the article somewhere? Dajwilkinson 00:21, 30 July 2007 (UTC)


 * Has anyone seen a source for this? Yappy2bhere (talk) 16:49, 6 January 2010 (UTC)

Using isopropanol for extractions
I just reverted an unsourced addition that claimed one use of isopropanol is as a solvent in the extraction of THC from marijuana. A technicality, really, since it appears that people have used not only isopropanol but acetone to accomplish this. Had I instead left the edit in place but steered the stoned home chemist to ethanol instead, would my edit have been allowed as a public service, or reverted as original research? These boys have few enough brain cells as is; it would be nice to preserve what's left to them. Yappy2bhere (talk) 16:49, 6 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Personally, I think it's simply not notable. If thc can be extracted in this sort of way - quite plausible - it can probably be done with many different solvents, and probably is done with many different solvents.  Also, isopropyl alcohol is used for thousands of applications like this - legal and illegal - of which thc is just one example.  Why single out thc, especially is this is an illegal example?  I'd prefer to see a sourced general statement indicating how it can be used to extract all sorts of natural compounds and essential oils from plant matter - then a few major examples could be included.  Otherwise it's like a random trivia fact.  Of course, I don't smoke dope, but I did work in the chemical industry, so maybe I see priorities differently...  Walkerma (talk) 20:59, 6 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Perhaps I wasn't clear. My question has nothing to do with THC per se. The point is, an isopropanol extraction is a bad idea if you intend to ingest the product, at least without a rotavap and some patience. The question is, once you've sourced the virtues of isopropanol in extraction and included them in the article, can you include a caveat not to eat (or smoke) what's been extracted, perhaps point people to a safer solvent, without running afoul of WP:NOR?


 * I'm afraid I didn't understand your joke about smoking dope and working in the chemical industry. Sorry. Yappy2bhere (talk) 03:05, 7 January 2010 (UTC)

Frequently Asked Questions about Isopropyl
HOW TO SEPARATE THE WATER FROM ISOPROPYL ALCOHO. ATLEAST WATER CONTENT IS 25 TO 30% IN IPA. Folks, if you're going to leave discussion entries, please sign them. --Rhombus 04:00, 23 March 2006 (UTC)

Where can I get a PvT diagram for Isopropyl alcohol?
 * The current Merck Index has some data on this

Can it be used as a substitute for lighter fluid in a zippo?
 * I would doubt it, simply because it is nowhere near as volatile as butane.


 * Actually butane is only used in Bic-type lighters, Zippo-style lighters use lighter fuel, and isopropyl alcohol does work as a substitute, but, since not formulated purposely for Zippo-style lighters, it may have adverse effects on the longevity of said lighters. -- Aron G 04:38, 11 June 2006 (UTC)
 * The "lighter fuel" used by "zippo-style" lighters is naptha. Also, it isn't a good idea to use OTC 2-propanol because it comes with significant quantities of water in with the alcohol. The common 91% will work to a degree, anything less will be a problem to light if it will work at all.  Same if you want to use 2-propanol in an alcohol burner. TheLiberalTruth 21:42, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

When does Isopropyl alcohol freeze?
 * -89.5 C is given in the Merck Index- close to the meltingI noticed recently that a product sold in Pharmacies for "Swimmers Ear" (blocked ear) is 99% Isopropyl alcohol.

Expansion request
Please explain the method/reaction by which this substance removes or isolates water (normal freezing point depression?), especially for medical and automotive use, and also explain its mode of toxicity.
 * I will be working on expanding this article over the coming weeks, but I confess I don't know much about these topics. I will try to ask some people who may know.  I would suspect that the removal of water works the same way as with almost any water-miscible organic solvent such as methanol, ethanol or acetone, I don't think there's anything unique about isopropanol.Walkerma 22:21, 5 August 2005 (UTC)


 * I answered the automotive use. I don't know about the medical use. ~K 02:10, 6 August 2005 (UTC)

I would like to see some information regarding the use of Isopropyl Alcohol as a fuel in an internal combustion engine, specifically, what is it's stoichiometric air/fuel ratio, octane, energy content, latency of heat, and so on.

i would like to know what is actually alcoholn 70%? what actually that 70% is?


 * Rubbing alcohol is usually 70% isopropyl alcohol, 30% water. Does that answer your question? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Walkerma (talk • contribs) 04:25, 22 April 2007 (UTC).

Production/Synthesis Information request
This article should include information on how 2-Propanol is synthesized.


 * This is on my "to-do" list. From my preliminary reading on this, it is by acid-catalysed hydration of propene.  There should be a full length section appearing in the next month or two. Walkerma 13:58, 19 October 2005 (UTC)

Heat Capacity
What is the specific heat capacity of isopropanol?

siafu 20:00, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

Is 2-propanol and Isopropyl alcohol that you buy in the drug store the same thing. Plase e-mail me if you are shure of the answer.

nyannon@triad.rr.com

Requested change in redirect for IPA from International Phonetic Alphabet to IPA (disambiguation)
Please comment. --Karnesky 15:42, 13 September 2006 (UTC)

IUPAC
I suggest changing the name of the article to the IUPAC name, propan-2-ol.
 * Thanks for your suggestion. I think we've debated this in the past, and the decision was made to leave the article here, because the name isopropyl alcohol is well known to non-chemists.  Our policy is to use the IUPAC name for most compounds, but substances with very familiar common names are kept under the common name since these names would be the usual ones used in links and searches. One problem with this particular compound is that it has so many names - IPA, isopropyl alcohol, isopropanol, propan-2-ol, 2-propanol (that is the American version of the IUPAC name!) and 1-methylethanol (the CAS name). Thanks, Walkerma 16:52, 22 September 2006 (UTC)

what if you drink screen wash - which has propanol in it
how much propanol is dangerous if you drink it in car screen wash ? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 86.131.141.136 (talk) 23:25, 28 December 2006 (UTC).
 * As mentioned in the article, propan-2-ol is twice as toxic as ethanol (normal alcohol) and the acetone it produces only mildly irritant. Nominally this implies that if you drink some by accident, you'll suffer a little over twice as much as when consuming shop alcohol. However bear in mind that
 * -either car screen wash is 100% propan-2-ol, and so equivalent to 200% ethanol in potency (most beverages have only a few % alcohol) - this implies that even a few sips are likely to be toxic and cause serious damage.
 * -or car screen wash also contains other solvents, which are likely to have a worse effect (in general, organic solvents are treated as fantastically hazardous in chemistry labs, and should be treated accordingly due to their hazards
 * -when used as a sterilant and disinfectant, propan-2-ol is diluted in water; no disinfectants are considered safe for consumption by humans, as the general idea behind sterilants and disinfectants is that they kill organic compounds, which includes humans.
 * -it is not clear how quickly or completely propan-2-ol is metabolised by the body; some degradation into acetone is noted but that does not mean that it will be completely converted nor that it will be purged by the body; many poisons are bioaccumulative.

It seems likely that any accidental ingenstion should be treated by inducing vomiting before damage is done. BEAR IN MIND THAT THE ABOVE IS A SET OF OBSERVATIONS, NOT A QUALIFIED OPINION. This is supported by some university-level chemistry, not by any form of medical degree or knowledge of the actual facts. I suggest you also see the response below. -Firi e n § 09:46, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

y would anyone drink screen wash
no seriously...y would anyone drink screen wash —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.104.163.209 (talk • contribs)
 * "While individuals are generally intelligent, the IQ of a group tends toward its lowest member". This summarises to: "People are idiots". People might consider this for hazing, or for laughs, or for some other similarly trite reason; thankfully most realise that playing with toxic compounds isn't the best of ideas and will find something else to do. But there's always some. --Firi e n § 09:46, 11 January 2007 (UTC)

I accidentally may have swallowed isopropanol. I was cleaning rollers on a piece of small machinery. Inadvertanely I licked my finger to turn a page and forgot I had cleaned the rollers with isopropanol. Of which I had to move manually.

So while not directly indigested, I believe it came in contact with my finger, which then came in contact with my thumb.

How much did I ingest? - Pat —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.174.134.92 (talk) 08:37, 26 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Probably not much at all. Most of the alcohol had likely evaporated off, even if it had not, it wouldn't be the much. In the future, though, if you feel you may have ingested a toxic substance, I strongly suggest you call Poison Control immediately instead of posting your question here on Wikipedia. Wikipedia does not have a fast turnaround time to give you the answer you might need in time to stop irreversable damage, nor is Wikipedia a trustworthy source of medical advice.Mmyers1976 (talk) 15:34, 2 March 2009 (UTC)

somebody know about this?
acording to the EWG ([ http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/report.php?type=INGREDIENT&id=198 envirometal working group report on Isopropyl alcohol]) the say it's found in a bunch of cometics... but there's no reference here. Are their two types of Isopropyl alcohols or something? Darkblast93 17:32, 1 February 2007 (UTC)darkblast93Darkblast93 17:32, 1 February 2007 (UTC)
 * What makes you think there are two types; what would these two types be? --Elvey 06:27, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
 * There are indeed two types of propanol, but it depends on the question. Propyl alcohol is propan-1-ol; isopropyl alcohol is an isomer of that, propan-2-ol. Propan-1-ol might exist in left- and right-handed forms, but I suspect that the molecule is simple enough that the two are readily switched by normal vibration on the atomic level. Darkblast93 - your question as to whether they're two types of isopropyl alcohols is simply answered with "no", but it you think the information from the ewg is reputable and well-sourced enough, then by all means include it in the article. --Firien need help? 14:45, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
 * I am guessing that you're saying - "there are all these uses, why aren't they mentioned here" - is that correct? That may be a valid point.  Isopropanol is often seen in the US in "rubbing alcohol" (70% isopropanol, 30% water), sold as such in many drugstores and supermarkets.  It is a cheap (free of duty) and relatively safe antiseptic, and so it will tend to be used as a standard component in many things.  I think in many of the things mentioned on the EWG page, it is most likely just a substitute for the more traditional ethanol (that's just a guess on my part).  You'd have to check, but in many of the examples on the EWG page, it is probably being used as an antiseptic/antibacterial (people don't like bacteria breeding in their cosmetics!).  Such applications are covered in this article, but certainly a deeper level of detail would be nice, if you have access to such information.  Are there household products where it is a major component?  If so, how is the isopropyl alcohol being used - as an antiseptic, as a solvent, or in some other way?  Is water present too, or is it anhydrous?  Are there clear citable sources for this information (for example, the website of a major company producing such things, or a government website)?  If you can get hold of such information, that would be a nice addition to the article!  Thanks, Walkerma 16:36, 14 March 2007 (UTC)
 * The statement Propan-1-ol might exist in left- and right-handed forms, but I suspect that the molecule is simple enough that the two are readily switched by normal vibration on the atomic level. is wrong. As there is no chiral centre in the molecule it has no enantiomeres (left or right handed form).--Stone 10:25, 24 April 2007 (UTC)

Expiration date
Does this alcohol sold in pharmacies expires? I've bought a bottle of it, and it says that expires in 6 months, but I'm not sure because everything here in Brazil has to have expiration date, independent of what kind of product is. Anyone knows something about that? Khullah 17:38, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
 * One possible reason is that isopropanol forms peroxides on contact with air, as mentioned in the article. If you keep an opened bottle for too long and sufficient isopropanol evaporates away, it may, possibly, form and concentrate enough peroxides to become an explosion hazard. There may be other reasons, including, as you point out, local labelling laws. 85.158.139.99 (talk) 02:22, 6 November 2008 (UTC)
 * Only very pure isopropanol (or other organic solvents such as ethers) have a tendency to form peroxides. Over-the-counter 70% isopropanol is not likely to decompose readily, and is also not likely to become less useful except through evaporation of the alcohol, leading to decreasing sterilization ability (which happens rather slowly in most cases - ie closed top, reasonable temperature). Jed (talk) 15:04, 4 August 2009 (UTC)

Nomenclature suggestion
The title should be isopropanol as isopropyl alcohol is a common name. Sorry for trolling. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 198.189.182.59 (talk) 21:45, 16 September 2008 (UTC)

"Availability" Section makes no nense
Right now this section reads:

"Although isopropanol is sometimes sold as "Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol, 70%" (or 91%) and "Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol, 99%", there is no isopropyl alcohol in the United States Pharmacopeia formula for rubbing alcohol, U.S.P."

Anyone care to venture a guess as to what the person who wrote this section is trying to say? Certainly there is isopropyl alcohol present in the United States, for both industrial and consumer use. My company makes hundreds of metric tons a year of a product that consists of 70% isopropanol. Certainly there is also isopropyl alcohol sold to consumers in pharmacies and drug stores. Here is a link to Buy Rite brand 70% isopropyl alcohol. http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=73865&catid=59962&aid=335933&aparam=rite_aid_isopropyl_rubbi&CAID=003cb448-8d44-459c-bf88-50e94df8c134

I think the person who wrote this paragraph may be confused, just because most rubbing alcohol is made from denatured ethanol does not mean that isopropanol does not exist, or is even uncommon in the united states.Mmyers1976 (talk) 20:47, 22 January 2009 (UTC)

70% isopropyl alcohol
If the flash point of 70% isopropyl alcohol is 70F at normobaric pressure, then what would the flash point become at 2ATA, 2.5ATA and 3ATA? Is there a formula to figure this out?Stacyhandley (talk) 00:35, 3 February 2009 (UTC)
 * This is a section for discussing the quality and content of the article in question, not asking questions about or discussing the subject in general. A google search will direct you to the information you desire.Mmyers1976 (talk) 14:45, 26 February 2009 (UTC)

Density
The density is not showing up in the chembox in the article although is in the edit page. Does anyone know why? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 18.33.6.22 (talk) 21:59, 27 February 2009 (UTC)
 * Fixed. VMS Mosaic (talk) 09:03, 28 February 2009 (UTC)

A question
What will happen if you "mix" Isopropanol (40%) and Acetone (100%)? 188.141.18.14 (talk) 15:03, 10 May 2010 (UTC)
 * You'll get a "mixture" of isopropanol, acetone and water (assuming the isopropanol is 40% aqueous). Nothing more exciting I'm afraid.

iPrOH
Please include less common abbreviation iPrOH. I am a chemist and do come across this shortened form occasionally in papers. If not in the first line then at least in the chemical box. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.67.119.242 (talk) 16:30, 14 February 2011 (UTC)

Requested move

 * The following discussion is an archived discussion of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section. 

No consensus to move. Vegaswikian (talk) 00:10, 24 February 2011 (UTC)

Isopropyl alcohol → Propan-2-ol — Propan-2-ol is the preferred IUPAC name, though I might also be happy with the also commonly accepted Isopropanol. 75.15.161.185 (talk) 01:31, 17 February 2011 (UTC)

Survey

 * Feel free to state your position on the renaming proposal by beginning a new line in this section with  or  , then sign your comment with  . Since polling is not a substitute for discussion, please explain your reasons, taking into account Wikipedia's policy on article titles.

I've seen.oknazevad (talk) 19:50, 18 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Oppose WP:COMMONNAME is the current name. 64.229.100.61 (talk) 04:53, 17 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Comment—from working in the lab (not entirely sure how it's called in modern literature though) the common name is neither, but isopropanol instead. Probably muddied the water there a bit. 86.6.193.43 (talk) 17:14, 17 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Oppose per WP:COMMONNAME. I agree that a move to isopropanol could be considered.  ChemNerd (talk) 17:32, 17 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Oppose per WP:COMMONNAME. Isopropanol would be ok, but the current name is the most common, from the literature

Discussion

 * Any additional comments:
 * The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the proposal. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

toxicity
PLEASE CLARIFY:

one of the most important pieces of information someone will seek in this article is if isopropyl is toxic or not. the article says it is non-toxic under "uses" but then says its toxic later on. SOMEONE WITH THE CORRECT INFORMATION, PLEASE FIX. then delete this. thank you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.134.6.10 (talk) 19:19, 8 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Toxicity is a scale, very few things are totally non-toxic, heck even oxygen can be toxic under the right conditions. You don't want to be drinking IPA and you don't want long term skin contact but other than that afaict it's pretty safe. 80.0.68.41 (talk) 18:59, 26 May 2011 (UTC)

Resistivity of Isopropyl alcohol
I am using IPA and distilled/de-ionized water (75%IPA to 25% water)to clean electronic circuits prior to conformal coating. In the past we have tested the IPA (99% electronic grade) for resistivity and always found it to be greater than 10Mohms. Is the 10Mohm figure a normal value or is a wider range to be considered normal.Darylla (talk) 19:17, 30 May 2011 (UTC)Darylla 05-30-2011

...
can this substance be mixed with gasoline to produce a car fuel!?! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.114.240.190 (talk) 14:09, 30 July 2011 (UTC)

Can this be used safely for toasting marshmallows?
I have a bottle of Isopropyl alcohol gel for sale for garden lanterns under the trade name "real flame" gel fuel. I wonder what compounds are released when it burns and would it be suitable for cooking directly, as in the case of a marshmallow on a stick. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.29.235.77 (talk) 05:43, 26 August 2011 (UTC)

How it works
Can anyone give me/add to the article details on how it actually works as a cleaning agent? Is it because most undesirable products (the 'dirt') are soluble in the IPA whereas they might not be water soluble? Many thanks in advance (and keep up the good work ;) ). Obi.  -- Obliteratu (talk) 18:23, 16 November 2007 (UTC)
 * I'm not a chemist but the impression I get is that alcohols are good solvents because generally like disolves like and alchols have characteristics similar to both water and hydrocarbons. Plugwash (talk) 01:38, 28 September 2011 (UTC)

IC
What does IC stand for here. It just links to the disambiguation: "and removing thermal paste from IC packages (such as CPUs.)" 77.103.147.46 (talk)

IC= Integrated Circuit —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.181.54.144 (talk) 01:51, 5 January 2011 (UTC)

Toxicity: Isopropyl alcohol vs methy alcohol
The article states: "However, it [isopropyl alcohol] is not nearly as toxic as methanol [...]"

However, the MSDS says:

http://msds.chem.ox.ac.uk/PR/2-propanol.html

ORL-MAN TDLO 223 mg kg-1

compared to

http://msds.chem.ox.ac.uk/ME/methyl_alcohol.html

ORL-HMN LDLO 428 mg kg-1

ORL-MAN LDLO 6422 mg kg-1

UNR-MAN LDLO 868 mg kg-1

What's the difference between

LDlo 	lowest published lethal dose

TDLo 	lowest published toxic dose ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 46.142.54.53 (talk) 06:39, 5 October 2011 (UTC)

Oxidation
There really is a lack of information on its oxidation here, and the equation we have is randomly set in the middle of properties. 2-propanol's oxidation has a few steps and if we can collect the information to add into the article it will be worth adding an oxidation section.Thephysicsnerd (talk) 15:57, 27 February 2012 (UTC)thephysicsnerd

SMILES
It isn't even valid. AFAIK you can't have numbers (Unless it's an ion, then [X+#]), shouldn't this be CC(O)C? --69.106.87.162 (talk) 15:35, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

Energy density?
Anyone know the energy density of isopropyl when it burns? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.31.75.153 (talk) 19:40, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

Heat of formation is on the supplemental data page: Isopropyl alcohol (data page) JSR (talk) 21:31, 16 June 2012 (UTC)


 * I don't think that is what he is looking for - we need more than the heat of formation to work out the energy density. J1812 (talk) 07:29, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

More user-friendly content please
Why does isopropyl alcohol work so well to remove black marks? (the ones that P.E. instructors hate because they disfigure the shiny new gym floor). And the scuff off keyboards? And why can't I get it from the chemist any more? Clues to this in the content of the article would be most welcome. ixo (talk) 12:08, 30 July 2012 (UTC)


 * I don't have sources to add that to the article, but for a guide, it is presumably because alcohols are organic solvents. All organic solvents generally have a good chance of dissolving non-water soluble stains.


 * We can assume it is used instead of ethanol in order to avoid tax. Used instead of denatured alcohol due to its lower toxicity (I used methylated spirits to clean things, but I wouldn't want that in a school). And used instead of a heavier solvent like white spirits because it evaporates quickly.


 * I don't know why you can't get it from a chemist. It is a good question. Some googling suggests that various alcoholics died after drinking it. Another comment suggests a use in heroin manufacturing, and possibly other drugs. J1812 (talk) 07:41, 1 March 2013 (UTC)

Use as a bath to dry electronic devices that fell into water?
I've heard it is used to dry electronic devices (cell phones, RC toys etc) when they fall on water, does anyone got any reliable sources describing this usage? --TiagoTiago (talk) 02:04, 25 April 2013 (UTC)

How it is denatured?
The intro paragraph says it is sometimes denatured (why? to prevent people for using it for drugs, etc?) I'm assuming it is denatured by adding methanol, like with denatured ethanol, but this could use some clarification. — Preceding unsigned comment added by SpiralTurtle (talk • contribs) 09:17, 15 November 2013 (UTC)

Repainting?
Is 'it can also be used to clean paint or other oil-based products so that they may be reused, commonly known as "repainting." ' an error, (or a joke?) 109.176.195.159 (talk) 07:44, 22 March 2014 (UTC)

Toxicology
I have an issue with the statement, "Around 15 g of isopropyl alcohol can have a toxic effect on a 70 kg human if left untreated.[20]" Link 20 does not lead to proof (at least not directly, anyways). I am uncertain of two things. One, the definition, severity, and duration of "toxic effect". Two, how 15g/kg of isopropyl alcohol will elicit this effect: Drinking 15g/kg, having 15g/kg in blood stream, inhaling 15g/kg, soaking yourself with 15g/kg, or something else?

I followed one of the links on the page that link 20 leads to, and found that you can access the MSDS from: http://www.fisher.co.uk/index.php/en/msds-search By entering the following catalogue number under the SDS search: P/7508/17 — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.3.225.120 (talk) 23:02, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

Disinfectant/Antiseptic
I'm curious as to how isopropyl alcohol disinfects and its comparisons to other disinfectants. The information I have about isopropyl alcohol comes largely from what I've read and heard, and I was hoping for some clarification from a more trustworthy source like wikipedia. I hope that this is the appropriate way to request information from someone who knows? Admittedly more important to me, I hope that this is an EFFICACIOUS way to make such a request!

That which I was hoping to learn more about, and in all areas I mean 99.9% isopropyl alcohol (as opposed to the 70% isopropyl alcohol, both of which are commonly sold in stores, but information might be useful to many other people on 99.9%, 70%, isopropyl wipes, and isopropyl gels ('hand sanitisers')):

From what I've read and heard, isopropyl alcohol kills every virus ever found (what, not even one can survive isopropyl???), kills most if not all bacteria, and does not provide any kind of permanent disinfecting property - that is, shortly after the isopropyl alcohol has been applied to a surface it will have evaporated off and will no longer kill off virii and bacteria, unlike some other chemicals which can remain and keep killing off virii and bacteria for some more significant span of time.

Isopropyl can destroy bacteria and/or virii by cytoplasmic disruption (rupturing the cell walls of bacteria?), denaturing proteins, even protective sheaths around virii, and mild thermal disruption? Is this true? Any other methods?

How effective is isopropyl alcohol at killing virii and bacteria? I think it's dangerous to put isopropyl alcohol into a wound that is deep enough to allow a significant amount of the alcohol to enter the blood stream, but I'm uncertain. Does applying 70% isopropyl alcohol actually increase infection risk by killing off some of the human cells and only some of the enemy bacteria/virii, leaving the remaining enemy bacteria/virii with a 'clean slate' (weaker enemy bacteria/virii killed off, many human self-defence cells killed off, a lot of dead cells around to eat and multiply with, etc)? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.3.225.120 (talk) 23:18, 16 June 2014 (UTC)

Uses: Solvent section
This section is riddled with 'citation needed' and several other pointers in certain sentences, but not in others. For example why does:

"It is used to clean LCD and glass computer monitor screens (at some risk to the anti-reflection coating on some screens..."

need a citation but:

"...and used to give second-hand or worn non-vinyl phonograph records newer-looking sheen"

does not? The next sentence is the same, and it makes for a messy read. I would suggest removing them altogether since everything mentioned is very common knowledge and widely accepted anyway due to it being one of the more common solvents that people use. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.141.165.65 (talk) 22:32, 4 July 2014 (UTC)

IPA for cleaning records
I'm worried about the statements: "...used to give second-hand or worn non-vinyl phonograph records newer-looking sheen" and "Isopropyl alcohol should not be used to clean vinyl records as it may leach plasticizer from the vinyl making it more rigid[citation needed]." IPA can be found in lots of proprietary record cleaning solutions for vinyl records, sold worldwide. Homebrew vinyl cleaning solutions for vaccum and immersion-based record cleaners made using IPA, distilled water and an optional surfactant/wetting agent are used by many knowledgable collectors, libraries and archives (though many also advocate rinsing the record in distilled water alone afterwards, to remove all traces of the chemicals). I have never read or heard the claim anywhere else (besides this article) that IPA is significantly harmful to vinyl records. It is, however, widely acknowledged as being harmful to shellac records (because it causes binding chemicals to leach out of the shellac/filler mix and then the whole record just disintegrates) and one-time phonograph recordings, e.g. acetate or nitrocellulose lacquer on a glass or steel substrate (because it dissolves the lacquer). The only guaranteed to be totally safe way to wet clean these records (and even then, not all of them) is with distilled water only. I suspect that the author of these remraks in the main article is confusing vinyl with shellac. LDGE (talk) 21:13, 6 February 2014 (UTC)

I added a section about vinyl record cleaning, having done many months of research to prove that IPA / water mixes did not de-vinylise records, but this was removed. As someone who has been formulating record cleaning agents for many years, IPA should never bevput on shellac records, acetates or laquers as it will destroy them. (PaulDocStewart (talk) 17:06, 19 July 2014 (UTC))

IUPAC Name
In the infobox, the "IUPAC Name" is "isopropyl alcohol", but is "isopropyl" proper IUPAC naming? Busukxuan (talk) 15:43, 27 July 2014 (UTC)

Denature
I added to the sentence "Isopropyl alcohol is denatured for certain uses" because it doesn't make sense within my understanding. IPA is sometimes used as a denaturant for ethanol, so I can't understand what the point of adding some other denaturant to it would be. I looked for, but failed to find, a reference to denaturing of IPA. I left the sentence in, in the hope that the original writer knew something that I didn't and that someone would explain it to the reader who was as confused about it as I.--Wcoole (talk) 20:09, 8 January 2015 (UTC)

Orphaned references in Isopropyl alcohol
I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Isopropyl alcohol's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "PGCH": From Chloroform:  From Diethyl ether:  From Carbon disulfide:  From 1,1,1-Trichloroethane:  From Glutaraldehyde:  From N-Butanol:  From Isobutanol:  <li>From Benzene: </li> <li>From Formaldehyde: </li> <li>From 1,2-Dichlorotetrafluoroethane: </li> <li>From Butane: </li> <li>From Trichloroethylene: </li> <li>From Isoamyl alcohol: </li> <li>From Bismuth telluride: </li> <li>From Tert-Butyl alcohol: </li> <li>From Phenol: </li> <li>From Chloroethane: </li> <li>From 1,1,2-Trichloroethane: </li> <li>From Cyclohexanol: </li> <li>From Cyclohexane: </li> <li>From Isopropyl acetate: </li> <li>From Hydrogen peroxide: </li> <li>From Ethylene glycol: </li> <li>From 1-Propanol: </li> </ul>

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT ⚡ 19:31, 9 April 2015 (UTC)

Most effective way to remove tree sap from a car
This fact needs to be addressed somehow. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.118.28.7 (talk) 11:01, 23 October 2015 (UTC)

Disinfectant/Antiseptic
These questions were removed without being discussed or answered (as far as I could tell):

I'm curious as to how isopropyl alcohol disinfects and its comparisons to other disinfectants. The information I have about isopropyl alcohol comes largely from what I've read and heard, and I was hoping for some clarification from a more trustworthy source like wikipedia. I hope that this is the appropriate way to request information from someone who knows? Admittedly more important to me, I hope that this is an EFFICACIOUS way to make such a request!

That which I was hoping to learn more about, and in all areas I mean 99.9% isopropyl alcohol (as opposed to the 70% isopropyl alcohol, both of which are commonly sold in stores, but information might be useful to many other people on 99.9%, 70%, isopropyl wipes, and isopropyl gels ('hand sanitisers')):

From what I've read and heard, isopropyl alcohol kills every virus ever found (what, not even one can survive isopropyl???), kills most if not all bacteria, and does not provide any kind of permanent disinfecting property - that is, shortly after the isopropyl alcohol has been applied to a surface it will have evaporated off and will no longer kill off virii and bacteria, unlike some other chemicals which can remain and keep killing off virii and bacteria for some more significant span of time.

Isopropyl can destroy bacteria and/or virii by cytoplasmic disruption (rupturing the cell walls of bacteria?), denaturing proteins, even protective sheaths around virii, and mild thermal disruption? Is this true? Any other methods?

How effective is isopropyl alcohol at killing virii and bacteria? I think it's dangerous to put isopropyl alcohol into a wound that is deep enough to allow a significant amount of the alcohol to enter the blood stream, but I'm uncertain. Does applying 70% isopropyl alcohol actually increase infection risk by killing off some of the human cells and only some of the enemy bacteria/virii, leaving the remaining enemy bacteria/virii with a 'clean slate' (weaker enemy bacteria/virii killed off, many human self-defence cells killed off, a lot of dead cells around to eat and multiply with, etc)? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.114.69.208 (talk) 03:09, 17 December 2015 (UTC)

Check my change of 5.4 tonnes to 5.4 thousand tonnes
In the section Uses, it is said that 5.4 tonnes of isopropyl alcohol is used for household use. I can only assume that 5.4 thousand tonnes is what is meant, as 5.4 tonnes is a very low amount. I cannot access the source to verify though. If anyone can check that'll be good. Galobtter (talk) 07:37, 26 March 2016 (UTC)

Vapour(vapour) pressure - a fundamental property of VOC???
Nobody?77.158.7.80 (talk) 12:29, 23 June 2016 (UTC)

Safety sheet linked page has no content
The safety sheet link points to a web service that seems to not be maintained anymore. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 85.24.205.162 (talk) 15:18, 4 July 2017 (UTC)

Occurrence in nature
Mention if ever occurs naturally or not... and why not. Jidanni (talk) 10:32, 23 November 2019 (UTC)

Please tell those who don't smell it!
In the article, it is stated that propane-2-ol has a strong odor, but it isn't stated HOW it smells! Or am I getting something wrong? I'm not a native speaker! RaftaReads (talk) 13:14, 13 August 2020 (UTC)

Strong alcoholic odour. Sweetish. Some people like it, some don't. LeticiaLL (talk) 22:03, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

Strong alcoholic odour. Sweetish. Some people like it, some don't. LeticiaLL (talk) 22:04, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

Strong alcoholic odour. Sweetish. Some people like it, some don't. LeticiaLL (talk) 22:05, 15 October 2020 (UTC)

uses on electronics
can this be used to disenfect eletronics ? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 142.196.142.234 (talk) 17:34, 6 September 2020 (UTC)


 * Yes. Félix An (talk) 23:48, 7 June 2021 (UTC)
 * Is isopropyl alcohol safe for eyeglass coatings? Eyeglass lenses often have for example antifog coating.
 * What about using ethanol for cleaning eyeglass lenses or coated eyeglass lenses? How does it work compared to isopropyl alcohol?
 * 185.227.44.1 (talk) 12:32, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

Wikipedia now says, but WITHOUT any sources. Is it really safe for ALL eyeglasses or not??

"Solvent

Together with ethanol, n-butanol, and methanol, it belongs to the group of alcohol solvents.

Isopropyl alcohol is commonly used for cleaning eyeglasses, electrical contacts (what about other parts of electronics?), audio or video tape heads, DVD and other optical disc lenses, removing thermal paste from heatsinks on CPUs and other IC packages".

185.227.44.1 (talk) 11:56, 22 June 2023 (UTC)


 * Is isopropyl alcohol safe for eyeglass coatings? Eyeglass lenses often have for example antifog coating.
 * What about using ethanol for cleaning eyeglass lenses or coated eyeglass lenses? How does it work compared to isopropyl alcohol?
 * 185.227.44.1 (talk) 12:32, 22 June 2023 (UTC)