The electronic structure of carcinogenic dibenzopyrenes: Linear dichroism, fluorescence polarization spectroscopy and quantum mechanical calculations

In studies of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon carcinogenicity three dibenzopyrenes have been named as the strongest mutagens together with the frequently studied benzo[cr]pyrene. A detailed study of the electronic structure of one of the three compounds, dibenzo[a,i]pyrene, was performed several years ago, Here we Present a similar study of the two remaining compounds, dibenzo[a, h]pyrene and dibenzo[a,c]pyrene. The studies include electronic linear dichroism spectra, fluorescence polarization spectra and quantum mechanical calculations for both molecules, as well as vibrational linear dichroism spectra for the former of the two.