A simple and selective approach for determination of titanium dioxide in double base solid propellants: methodology for method validation

Abstract

In this work, we developed and validated a simple and selective method for the determination of titanium dioxide in double base solid (DB propellants). The method is based on complex formation of Ti(IV) with hydrogen peroxide in acidic media and monitoring absorbance of colored product by spectrophotometric technique at 407 nm. Under optimal conditions, at λ_max = 407 nm, the linear range of determination of Ti(IV) was 5.0–100 µg mL⁻¹ with detection limits of 3.0 µg mL⁻¹. The validity of the method was evaluated by means of the data statistical analysis. For this purpose, the method was applied to the determination of titanium dioxide (TiO₂) in DB propellants and the results were statistically compared with those obtained by the by ICP-AES method using t- and F-tests. There was no significant difference between the mean values and the precisions of the two methods at the 95% confidence level. The results showed that the proposed method offers an accurate and reliable approach for the determination of titanium dioxide in DB propellants, and can be suggested as a routine method in military quality control laboratories.