Rapid Methods for Quantitation of Stabilizers and Their Reaction Products in Propellants

Abstract

Methods are presented for analyses of stabilizers in propellants to determine their chemical stability. The stabilizers are diphenylamine, ethylcentralite and some products of their chemical changes in single-base and double-base propellants.A large number of quantitative analyses of propellants are needed. Because of the high peak capacity of TLC methods and the relatively high viscosity of propellant sample solutions, it was decided to use HPTLC with liquid-crystalline method of visualization and densitometry. However, the liquid-crystalline method of visualization is useful for quantitative analysis of stabilizers, but is not appropriate for quantitation of many other propellants’ components. The densitometric method was found to be quantitative for much more components in propellants than the liquid-crystalline one. Therefore, the densitometric method was chosen. During quantitation of stabilizers and some of their nitration products, UV absorbance signals were measured at characteristic wave lenghts for analysed substances. Monotonic (increasing) standard curves describing changes of measured signals versus concentrations of analysed substances were obtained.