Room temperature phosphorescence analyses of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using an imaging sensing system combined with a bifurcated optical fiber and a cooled charge coupled device detector.

This paper presents a development of a solid support RT phosphorescence procedure for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, based on the use of a Xenon flash lamp as the excitation source, a fiber optic sensor as a guide of light, an imaging spectrograph and a cooled two dimensional charge coupled device as the detector. Non fluorescent Whatman N degrees 1 filter paper was used as the solid substrate and, thallium nitrate and sodium iodide were used to enhance room temperature phosphorescence of pyrene, benzo (a) anthracene, naphtalene, phenanthrene, dibenzothiophene, fluorene, coronene and fluoranthene. Analytical curves of eight phosphors give linear dynamic ranges from one and a half to two decades and limits of detection of femtomolar to picomolar/spot were reported. Quantitative analyses in mixtures were also carried out using the internal standard method. Results led to a 10% better accuracy for determinations of pyrene and benzo (a) anthracene.