Effects of polyacrylic acid on the room-temperature phosphorescence of selected compounds

Polyacrylic acid solutions of 4-phenylphenol, p-aminobenzoic acid, 1,2-benzocarbazole, and 5,6-benzoquinoline were spotted on filter paper and the results obtained by room-temperature phosphorescence were compared with similar samples spotted on filter paper without polyacrylic acid. Improvements in sensitivity ranged from 26 times to 1.1 times and limits of detection from 100 times to 1.1 times for the samples on filter paper with polyacrylic acid. The relative standard deviations for the samples with polyacrylic acid added were also improved.