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by danbruc 1 day ago
Never heard that name, but according to their safety data sheet [1] it is 95+ % dimethylformamide [2]. Not too different from acetone, with a additional dimethylamin group. Acetone-free nail polish remover usually contains primarily ethyl acetate [3] which is also structurally similar.

[1] https://bsi-inc.com/sds_pdf/sds_un_cure.pdf

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethylformamide

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethyl_acetate

4 comments

Wow, speaking of safety -- I just looked it up to see if Un-Cure superglue/CA debonder would be safe enough to use on hands, or would just cause the chemicals to be broken down and absorbed through the skin at a fast rate too (which I personally wouldn't want), and the initial results I see say that it's ok to use on hands. Wow again.
Just like acetone.
I sensitised my hands with a single exposure to acetone, and now even isoprop gives me painful flaky fingers for days. I wish I'd worn chemical gloves.
I've always heard of using nitromethane to remove super glue...
DMF is quite different than acetone.

As a chemist it’s a highly polar, very high boiling point solvent that is the “go to” when you can’t find a solvent your reactants dissolve in.

Acetone is less polar, more chemically reactive and lower boiling point. It’s rarely used as a reaction solvent due to its reactivity, but it is common in crystallizations.

Both are quite non-toxic (your body makes small amounts of acetone!), but I recall a cancer risk with high exposures of DMF (the example was tannery workers who sprayed it without any safety gear and got soaked).

It must be extremely low vapor pressure compared to acetone. Little smell and not an ultra airtight lid. Lasts forever.
yes, DMF has a much higher boiling point. Its much more polar.