Cetylpyridinium chloride micelles as a selective fluorescence quenching solvent media for discriminating between alternant versus nonalternant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Fluorescence behavior of 41 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) dissolved in aqueous micellar cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) solvent media and in five different cetyltrimethylammonium chloride + cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) surfactant mixtures is reported. Experimental fluorescence measurements reveal that CPC is a selective fluorescence quenching agent for alternant PAHs. The cetylpyridinium ion effectively quenched emission intensities of the 21 alternant PAHs studied. Emission intensities of nonalternant PAHs, with a few noted exceptions, were unaffected by the presence of CPC in the mixed cationic surfactant micelles.