Fluoranthene is a

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon A polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) is a class of organic compounds that is composed of multiple aromatic rings. The simplest representative is naphthalene, having two aromatic rings and the three-ring compounds anthracene and phenanthrene. ...

(PAH). The molecule can be viewed as the fusion of

naphthalene Naphthalene is an organic compound with formula . It is the simplest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, and is a white crystalline solid with a characteristic odor that is detectable at concentrations as low as 0.08 ppm by mass. As an aromati ...

and

benzene Benzene is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C6H6. The benzene molecule is composed of six carbon atoms joined in a planar ring with one hydrogen atom attached to each. Because it contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, ...

unit connected by a five-membered ring. Although samples are often pale yellow, the compound is colorless. It is soluble in nonpolar organic solvents.Karl Griesbaum, Arno Behr, Dieter Biedenkapp, Heinz-Werner Voges, Dorothea Garbe, Christian Paetz, Gerd Collin, Dieter Mayer, Hartmut Höke “Hydrocarbons” in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry 2002 Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. It is a member of the class of PAHs known as non-alternant PAHs because it has rings other than those with six carbon atoms. It is a structural isomer of the alternant PAH

pyrene Pyrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) consisting of four fused benzene rings, resulting in a flat aromatic system. The chemical formula is . This yellow solid is the smallest peri-fused PAH (one where the rings are fused through mor ...

. It is not as thermodynamically stable as pyrene. Its name is derived from its

fluorescence Fluorescence is the emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. It is a form of luminescence. In most cases, the emitted light has a longer wavelength, and therefore a lower photon energy, tha ...

under UV light.

Occurrence

Traces of fluoranthene is found in many combustion products, along with other PAHs. It results from incomplete combustion. Fluoranthene was originally isolated from coal tar pitch. It is still obtained from the high boiling fraction of coal tar, representing a few percent by weight.

Pollutant

Fluoranthene is one of the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency A biophysical environment is a biotic and abiotic surrounding of an organism or population, and consequently includes the factors that have an influence in their survival, development, and evolution. A biophysical environment can vary in scale f ...

's 16 priority

pollutant A pollutant or novel entity is a substance or energy introduced into the environment that has undesired effects, or adversely affects the usefulness of a resource. These can be both naturally forming (i.e. minerals or extracted compounds like oi ...

PAHs. Fluoranthene has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a group 3

carcinogen A carcinogen is any substance, radionuclide, or radiation that promotes carcinogenesis (the formation of cancer). This may be due to the ability to damage the genome or to the disruption of cellular metabolic processes. Several radioactive substan ...

, "not classifiable as to its carcinogenicity to humans" , however it was found to possess carcinogenic properties in case of newborn mice according to short-term lung tumor assay (Busby et al., 1984). In 2019, fluoranthene was added to the Candidate List of Substances of Very High Concern (SVHCs) due to its persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic (PBT) and very persistent and very bioaccumulative (vPvB) properties. Its occurrence in food has been assessed. Its biodegradation has been elucidated. The process commences with dihydroxylation at each of two kinds of CH=CH linkages.

References

External links

National Pollutant Inventory - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Fact Sheet

Chemical Profile for FLUORANTHENE from Scorecard

TOXICITY SUMMARY FOR FLUORANTHENE August 1993
{{PAHs Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons Tetracyclic compounds PBT substances