High-temperature vapor detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon fluorescence

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are generated from the incomplete combustion of organic matters in a wide variety of natural and man-made materials, such as fuels. It is important to develop an analytical technique for rapidly monitoring PAH generation at high temperatures during pyrolysis processes. This work describes a real-time and in situ technique using laser-induced fluorescence to detect PAH vapors at elevated temperatures. We report fluorescence spectra of several typical PAH model compounds, such as pyrene, phenanthrene and chrysene. We have also examined the temperature effects on PAH fluorescence spectra such as spectral shift, intensity and band width.