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Our Mission

Choosing the wrong material for chemical storage can lead to container failure, leaks, environmental damage, and workplace injuries. Yet finding reliable compatibility data has traditionally meant digging through scattered PDF charts or expensive proprietary databases.

ChemicalResistance.org was created to change that. We've built a fast, searchable database covering 830+ chemicals and 24 materials — completely free, with no registration required.

Who Is This For?

What We Cover

Data Source

Our chemical resistance data is based on the comprehensive compatibility charts published by Bürkle GmbH, a German manufacturer of laboratory and industrial equipment with decades of expertise in chemical handling.

How the Data Is Handled

Every rating on this site is read directly from the Bürkle spreadsheet. The spreadsheet has 1,651 rows. 661 of them are synonyms that point at another row and carry no ratings of their own, so the site counts 990 rows with data, covering 835 chemicals.

• Concentration. Many chemicals are listed at several concentrations, and the rating often changes between them. Each chemical page shows every concentration in the source. A rating is never shown without the concentration it belongs to.
• Estimates. About a quarter of the values are marked in the source as estimates rather than test results. They are marked with an asterisk (*) and are given as one value without a temperature.
• Pitting. For stainless steel and aluminium the source flags a risk of pitting or stress-corrosion cracking. The flag is shown as "L" or "pitting risk".
• No data. A missing rating means the combination was not tested. It does not mean the material is resistant.
• Chemical classes. The grouping into classes such as mineral acids or ketones was done by this site, not by the source.
• Names. The source is in German. English, Spanish and other names are translations, and the German source name is shown next to them.

Checks against other sources

In September 2026 the 20 °C ratings of 27 common chemicals were compared with other published charts: 389 chemical and material combinations. Most agreed within one grade. Where at least two independent sources rate a material clearly worse than the Bürkle list does, the value is either corrected or marked as disputed, and the page gives the reason and the references. The rest of the data has not been checked this way.

• Acetone. HDPE (concentration not stated): source value 1/1 kept, but other published charts rate it lower. Published charts disagree: two rate acetone D or not recommended for continuous use on HDPE, while the INEOS HDPE guide rates it satisfactory. [1] [2] [3]
• Dichloromethane. Aluminium (concentration not stated): source value 1/0 kept, but other published charts rate it lower. Two charts rate aluminium C and D for dichloromethane. [1] [2]
• Dimethylformamide (DMF). Acetal (POM) (concentration not stated): source value 1/2 kept, but other published charts rate it lower. Two charts that share one data set rate acetal D for dimethylformamide. [1] [2]
• Ethanol. PVC Rigid (96 %): source value 1/3 kept, but other published charts rate it lower. Two charts rate rigid PVC fair or limited for pure ethanol. [1]
• Hydrofluoric Acid. NBR (4 %): source value (2) kept, but other published charts rate it lower. The source value is an estimate. Charts for hydrofluoric acid of 20 % and above, and an O-ring handbook without a stated concentration, rate nitrile rubber unsuitable. [1] [2]
• Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (MIBK). HDPE (concentration not stated): source value 1/2 kept, but other published charts rate it lower. One chart rates methyl isobutyl ketone D on HDPE and the Nalgene table rates it fair. [1] [2]
• Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK). HDPE (concentration not stated): source value 1/3 kept, but other published charts rate it lower. The INEOS HDPE guide rates methyl ethyl ketone unsatisfactory and two charts rate it D or not recommended for continuous use; one chart rates it resistant. [1] [2] [3]
• Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic Soda). PVDF (1 %): source value 1/1, shown as 4/4. The resin manufacturer lists PVDF homopolymer as not recommended for sodium hydroxide at every concentration, and two further charts rate it D. The source rates it A to C, mostly as an estimate. [1] [2] [3]
• Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic Soda). PVDF (30 %): source value (2), shown as 4/4. The resin manufacturer lists PVDF homopolymer as not recommended for sodium hydroxide at every concentration, and two further charts rate it D. The source rates it A to C, mostly as an estimate. [1] [2] [3]
• Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic Soda). PVDF (45 %): source value (2), shown as 4/4. The resin manufacturer lists PVDF homopolymer as not recommended for sodium hydroxide at every concentration, and two further charts rate it D. The source rates it A to C, mostly as an estimate. [1] [2] [3]
• Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic Soda). PVDF (50 %): source value 3/3, shown as 4/4. The resin manufacturer lists PVDF homopolymer as not recommended for sodium hydroxide at every concentration, and two further charts rate it D. The source rates it A to C, mostly as an estimate. [1] [2] [3]
• Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic Soda). PVDF (60 %): source value (2), shown as 4/4. The resin manufacturer lists PVDF homopolymer as not recommended for sodium hydroxide at every concentration, and two further charts rate it D. The source rates it A to C, mostly as an estimate. [1] [2] [3]
• Sodium Hydroxide (Caustic Soda). PVDF (concentrated): source value (2), shown as 4/4. The resin manufacturer lists PVDF homopolymer as not recommended for sodium hydroxide at every concentration, and two further charts rate it D. The source rates it A to C, mostly as an estimate. [1] [2] [3]
• Seawater (Salt Water). SS 304 (concentration not stated): source value 1/3L, shown as 3/3L. Stainless steel 304 pits in seawater. The Australian Stainless Steel Development Association limits it to fittings that are regularly washed with fresh water, and two charts rate it C. The source rates it A at 20 °C. [1] [2] [3]
• Seawater (Salt Water). SS 316 (concentration not stated): source value 1/2L, shown as 2/2L. Stainless steel 316 is subject to crevice corrosion in seawater above about 10 to 15 °C. The source rates it A at 20 °C. [1] [2]
• Sulfuric Acid. SS 304 (20 %): source value 2/3, shown as 4/4. The British Stainless Steel Association limits 304 to about 5 % sulfuric acid at room temperature; intermediate concentrations corrode it rapidly. The source rates it B. [1] [2]
• Sulfuric Acid. SS 304 (40 %): source value 2/3, shown as 4/4. Neither 304 nor 316 resists sulfuric acid of intermediate concentration: the British Stainless Steel Association limits 304 to about 5 % and 316 to about 22 % at room temperature. The source rates both B. [1] [2]
• Sulfuric Acid. SS 316 (40 %): source value 2/3, shown as 4/4. Neither 304 nor 316 resists sulfuric acid of intermediate concentration: the British Stainless Steel Association limits 304 to about 5 % and 316 to about 22 % at room temperature. The source rates both B. [1] [2]
• Sulfuric Acid. SS 304 (80 %): source value 2/4, shown as 4/4. Neither 304 nor 316 resists sulfuric acid of intermediate concentration: the British Stainless Steel Association limits 304 to about 5 % and 316 to about 22 % at room temperature. The source rates both B. [1] [2]
• Sulfuric Acid. SS 316 (80 %): source value 2/3, shown as 4/4. Neither 304 nor 316 resists sulfuric acid of intermediate concentration: the British Stainless Steel Association limits 304 to about 5 % and 316 to about 22 % at room temperature. The source rates both B. [1] [2]
• Hydrogen Peroxide. Acetal (POM) (3 %): source value 1/0 kept, but other published charts rate it lower. Two charts that share one data set rate acetal D for dilute hydrogen peroxide. The source itself rates acetal D from 30 %. [1] [2]

Source values use the scale 1 (very good) to 4 (not resistant).

Rating System

We use a simple A-D rating scale:

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