Spectroscopic investigations in molecularly organized solvent media. Part 5. Fluorescence behavior of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons dissolved in cetylpyridinium chloride+zwitterionic and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride+zwitterionic mixed surfactant systems

Applicability of the cetylpyridinium (CPy(+)) cation as a selective fluorescence quenching agent for discriminating between alternant versus nonalternant polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) is examined for 25 representative solutes dissolved in two aqueous micellar cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC)+zwitterionic surfactant solvent media. Experimental results show that the CPy(+) cation effectively quenched fluorescence emission of all 10 alternant PAHs studied despite the presence of strong intramicellar coulombic interactions. Emission intensities of the 15 nonalternant PAHs also decreased upon addition of CPC to the zwitterionic surfactant solutions. Reduction in emission intensities for the nonalternant PAHs is rationalized in terms of changes in micellar structure caused by the coulombic interactions, rather than from loss of quenching selectivity by the CPy(+) cation.