FLUORESCENCE SPECTRAL STUDY OF THE SOLUBILIZATION OF BENZO [a] PYRENE IN MICELLAR SURFACTANT SOLUTION

Benzo[a]pyrene is one of a group of chemicals called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, PAHs for short, and found in cigarette smoke, in the exhaust from automobiles and coal tar. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are toxic environmental pollutants that are known or suspected carcinogens or mutagens. Bioremediation has been used as a general way to eliminate them from the contaminated sites or aquifers, but their biodegradation is rather limited due to their low bioavailability because of their sparingly soluble nature. The presence of surfactants can increase the solubility of PAHs and hence potentially increase their bioavailability. Micellar solubilization of benzo[a]pyrene in nonionic and ionic surfactants heteromicroenvironment is monitored by fluorescence and absorption spectral techniques has been reported by the authors. The influence of surfactant, concentration and working experimental conditions on the fluorescence spectra of benzo[a]pyrene is thoroughly evaluated and discussed. The increase in fluorescence intensity in micellar media can be attributed to the increase in quantum efficiency suggests that the suspended hydrophobic benzo[a]pyrene molecules have been solubilized. The solubilizing action has been supplemented and confirmed by few theoretically calculated spectral parameters like, empirical fluorescence coefficient (kf), quantum yield ( f  ), molar extinction coefficient (ε) and Stokes’ shift values.