Identification of the C30H16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon benzo[cd]naphtho[1,2,3-lm]perylene as a product of the supercritical pyrolysis of a synthetic jet fuel

Using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet-visible (UV) diode-array and mass spectrometric detection, we have analyzed the products of a Fischer-Tropsch synthetic jet fuel pyrolyzed, under supercritical conditions, at 710C and 42 atm. An eight-ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, benzo[cd]naphtho[1,2,3-lm]perylene, has been unequivocally identified among the product components by its characteristic ultraviolet-visible absorbance spectrum. First, the unknown product component's HPLC elution behavior and UV absorbance characteristics indicated that it was a planar benzologue of dibenzo[cd,lm]perylene, having a high length-to-breadth ratio. Next, the mass spectrum established the isomer family of the unknown compound as C30H16. The UV absorption spectrum was then progressively analyzed with different solvents to achieve the final identification of benzo[cd]naphtho[1,2,3-lm]perylene. Benzo[cd]naphtho[1,2,3-lm]perylene has never before been reported as a product in any combustion or pyrolysis study.