The featured molecules for the month of February are a number of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) discussed in the article “Fluorescence, Absorption, and Excitation Spectra of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons as a Tool for Quantitative Analysis”. PAHs are ubiquitous in air, soils, and water as a result of both direct and indirect emissions. PAHs are discharged into environments as byproducts of the combusion of fossil fuels used for transportation and generation of electricity. Other sources of PAH emissions include industrial processes, biomass burning, waste incineration, oil spills, and cigarette smoke.
In addition to the static image, two fully manipulable versions (Jmol, MDLChime) of these molecules appear below. (The Jmol versions may take a few extra seconds to load, based on the speed of your Internet connection.)
| 
