Infrared macro and semimicro determination of nitrogen in raw nitrocellulose and nitrocellulose contained in propellants

The infrared procedure for the determination of nitrogen in raw nitrocellulose has been improved. In the original method 0.31-0.32 g of sample was dissolved in 45 ml of tetrahydrofuran, the solution was weighed, and the infrared peak at 6.0 microm was measured. The calibration curve was prepared by plotting absorbance against mg of nitrogen per g of solution. The method has the disadvantage that the height of the peak is affected by the sample weight. In the improved method the error due to the sample weight is eliminated by using 0.3000 g of sample and diluting to 50 ml in a volumetric flask. The calibration curve is prepared by plotting absorbance against % nitrogen. The method was extended to the semimicro scale by using a 30.0-mg sample and diluting to 5 ml in a volumetric flask. The method has been applied on the macro and semimicro scales to the direct determination of nitrogen in nitrocellulose after a methylene chloride extraction. The amounts of graphite and inorganic salts found in nitrocellulose-base propellants do not interfere, but a correction must be made to refer the results to 0.3000 g of nitrocellulose for the macro method or 30.0 mg of nitrocellulose for the semimicro method. The same calibration curve is used for all procedures.