Fluorescence spectra of anthracene and pyrene in water and in aqueous surfactant solution

The fluorescence and excitation spectra of anthracene and pyrene have been measured in water and in aqueous solution of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and compared with the spectra in ethanol, for microcrystals and in a solution by the dilution method. The molecular spectra observed in water exhibit large broadenings and red-shifts due to the specific solvent effects of water. In aqueous SDS solution the spectra of anthracene are considerably broadened and red-shifted, suggesting the existence of the molecules near the micellar surface, while in the emission spectrum of pyrene remarkable intensity reductions of the vibronic bands have been observed, indicating a weak polarity of the environment in the SDS micelles.