Controlled-potential coulometric determination of plutonium

A non-empirical method for the controlled-potential coulometric determination of plutonium has been proposed. The method utilizes an application of the Nernst equation to reduce the determination time by 40 percent without loss in precision or accuracy. A fraction greater than 99 percent of the total plutonium content was accurately determined and corrected for background current and for the fraction not electrolyzed. One hundred thirty-five standards from eleven preparations were assayed yielding a mean recovery of 100.01 percent with a standard deviation of 0.06 percent using an electrical calibration factor