LASER-INDUCED FLUORESCENCE SPECTROMETRY OF AROMATIC HYDROCARBON DERIVATIVES IN VAPOR-DEPOSITED PARENT MOLECULE MATRICES

The analytical utility of a low-temperature parent molecule matrix for the characterization of mixtures of aromatic hydrocarbon derivatives by fluorescence detection has been assessed, using a prototype system consisting of chloronaphthalenes in a naphthalene matrix. By vapor deposition of the samples and the naphthalene matrix, it has been demonstrated that good precision, low detection limits, and high-resolution excitation and fluorescence spectra can be obtained. Chloronaphthalenes can be detected at low nanogram levels from a two-photon excitation spectrum, while the two-photon excitation bandwidths are about 1 cm** minus **1 (fwhm) and are virtually independent of the position of substitution when the parent molecule matrix is used.