Reversible Quenching by Oxygen of the Fluorescence of Polycyclic Hydrocarbons

Abstract

WE regret that, as Dr. E. J. Bowen has pointed out¹, the important paper of Bowen and Williams² on the photo-oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons has indeed escaped our notice, but we hope that our previous communication³ has served a useful purpose in directing attention to the occurrence of the phenomenon in the visible fluorescence of cancerogenic hydrocarbons where it has not hitherto been described. This reaction is not only of practical importance for analytical fluorescence measurements, but also of theoretical interest as a possible initial stage in the metabolic oxidation of these substances.