Abstract
A methodology for the characterization of groups of PAHs using a combination of Normal Phase Liquid Chromatography with Ultraviolet-Visible Spectroscopy (NPLC/UV-vis) and Gas Chromatography with Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS) was used for the identification and quantification of seven fused aromatic rings C26H14 peri-condensed benzenoid polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, PAHs, in Standard Reference Material 1597a, Complex Mixture of PAHs from Coal Tar. The NPLC/UV-vis isolated the fractions based on the number of aromatic carbons and the GC/MS allowed the identification and quantification of five of the nine C26H14 PAH isomers; naphtho[1,2,3,4-ghi]perylene, dibenzo[b,ghi]perylene, dibenzo[b,pqr]perylene, naphtho[8,1,2-bcd]perylene, and dibenzo[cd,lm]perylene using a retention time comparison with authentic reference standards. For the other four benzenoid isomers with no available reference standards, the theoretical approach known as the annellation theory was used to achieve the potential identification of benzo[qr]naphtho[3,2,1,8-defg]chrysene and the elution distribution in the GC fractions was used to reach the tentative identifications of dibenzo[a,ghi]perylene, naphtho[7,8,1,2,3-pqrst]pentaphene, and anthra[2,1,9,8-opqra]naphthacene. It is the first time that naphtho[8,1,2-bcd]perylene is identified, the first time that benzo[qr]naphtho[3,2,1,8-defg]chrysene is potentially identified, and the first time that naphtho[1,2,3,4-ghi]perylene, dibenzo[b,ghi]perylene, dibenzo[b,pqr]perylene, naphtho[8,1,2-bcd]perylene, and dibenzo[cd,lm]perylene are quantified, in any sample, in any context.