Determination of Potassium, Sodium, Calcium, and Barium in Nitrocellulose-Base Propellants by Atomic Absorption.

摘要

Atomic absorption methods are proposed for the determination of potassium, sodium, calcium, and barium in nitrocellulose-base propellants. A 1-gram sample is treated with a mixture of 10 ml of nitric acid and 3 ml of perchloric acid and the solution is evaporated to a volume of approximately 1 ml. The solution is then diluted to an appropriate volume (usually 500 ml for potassium or 100 ml for sodium, calcium, and barium) and the absorption is determined with an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. There are no significant interferences from the amounts and ratios of salts found in nitrocellulose-base propellants. The accuracy of the methods was checked with actual and synthetic propellants. The proposed methods are more reliable and considerably more rapid than the wet chemical methods presently used for the determination of inorganic salts in nitrocellulose-base propellants. (Author)