Matrix isolation fourier transform infrared spectroscopy of nitro polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Nitro polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAH) are potent mutagens. This class of compounds has a number of anthropogenic sources, and its members are ubiquitously distributed. For these reasons, methods of analysis of nitro-PAH should be explored.

The application of matrix isolation Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (MI-FTiR) to the analysis of nitro-PAH was demonstrated. Samples were vaporized in a Knudsen cell and co-deposited on a Csl window cooled to 15 K in order to obtain matrix isolated spectra.

Spectra of twelve compounds were obtained to form a partial library of matrix isolated nitro-PAH. Qualitative studies demonstrated the resolution and identification of components of complex and isomeric mixtures. The feasibility of quantitative analysis of nitro-PAH was demonstrated with the construction of a Beer's law plot for 1- nitropyrene. The plot was linear over two decades.