Matrix Isolation FT-IR Studies of Nitro Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

Abstract

Nitro polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (nitro-PAH), a class of compounds which has a number of anthropogenic sources, are potent mutagens. The application of matrix isolation Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (MI/FT-IR) to the analysis of nitro-PAH was demonstrated. Samples were vaporized in a Knudsen cell and co-deposited with nitrogen on a CsI window cooled to 15 K. Spectra of twelve compounds were obtained for the purpose of forming 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 of 1-nitropyrene. The plot was linear over two decades.