Admicelle-enhanced synchronous fluorescence spectrometry for the selective determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in water

A simple and rapid method for the highly sensitive determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water was developed. Benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, perylene, and pyrene in water were concentrated into sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-alumina admicelles. The collection was performed by adding SDS and alumina particles into the sample solution at pH 2. After gentle mixing, the resulting suspension was passed through a membrane filter to collect the SDS admicelles containing highly concentrated PAHs. The filter was placed on a slide glass and then covered admicellar layer with a fused silica glass plate before setting in a fluorescence spectrometer. Benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, perylene, and pyrene were selectively determined by the synchronous fluorescence scan (SFS) analysis with keeping wavelength intervals between excitation and emission to 98, 35, 29, and 45 nm, respectively. Because of the minimum spectral overlapping, 1–40 ng l−1 of benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, and perylene as well as 10–150 ng l−1 of pyrene were selectively determined with eliminating the interferences of other 12 PAHs. The detection limits were 0.3 ng l−1 for benzo[a]pyrene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, and perylene, and 1 ng l−1 for pyrene. They were 2–3 orders of magnitude lower than the detection limits in normal aqueous micellar solutions. The application to water analysis was studied.