Analytical Method for Determining Tetrazene in Water.
Abstract
An ion pairing RP-HPLC method was developed to determine tetrazene in water. The method uses an LC-18 column and a mobile phase of 2/3 v/v methanol-water modified by 0.01 molar 1 decanesulfonic acid sodium salt. The mobile phase pH was adjusted to 3 with glacial acetic acid. The modified mobile phase was optimal for separating of tetrazene from potential interferences by other explosive compounds such as HMX and RDX and for allowing elution of TNT within a 15-minute run time. The retention time for tetrazene was 2.8 minutes The UV detector was set at 280nm. A linear model with zero intercept was found to adequately describe the calibration data. The concentration range tested was 6.2-1238 micro g/L. A spike recovery test on each of four days gave an average recovery of 103%. A reporting limit of 7.25 ug/L was estimated. The relative standard deviation was approximately 2% over the range tested. Tetrazene was found to be unstable in an aqueous medium at room temperature. Concentrations decreased by 96-100% over 24 hours. Chilled solutions were loss prone to degradation than room temperature solutions, and heated solutions (50 C) degraded completely within two rooms. Keywords: Chemical analysis, Explosives, Groundwater, Tetrazene.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 01, 1987
- Accession Number
- ADA189045
Entities
People
- Marianne E. Walsh
- Thomas F. Jenkins
Organizations
- Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory