Benzo[k]fluoranthene

Chemical properties

yellow crystals

The Uses of Benzo[k]fluoranthene

Benzo[k]fluoranthene is used as an optical sensor for nitro-aromatic compounds due to fluorescence quenching of the molecule. It is also a carcinogen and mutagen.

What are the applications of Application

Benzo[k]fluoranthene is an optical sensor for nitro-aromatic compounds, chosen due to fluorescence quenching of the molecule.

Definition

ChEBI: Benzo[k]fluoranthene is a member of naphthalenes.

General Description

Pale yellow needles or yellow crystalline solid.

Air & Water Reactions

Insoluble in water.

Reactivity Profile

BENZO[K]FLUORANTHENE can react with strong oxidizing agents. May react with electrophiles, peroxides, nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides

Hazard

Possible carcinogen.

Health Hazard

ACUTE/CHRONIC HAZARDS: When heated to decomposition BENZO(K)FLUORANTHENE emits acrid smoke and irritating fumes.

Health Hazard

Benzo[k]fluoranthene caused lungs and skincancers in animals. It produced tumors atthe site of application. Its carcinogenicity inhumans is not known.

Fire Hazard

Flash point data for BENZO(K)FLUORANTHENE are not available; however, BENZO(K)FLUORANTHENE is probably combustible.

Safety Profile

Confirmed carcinogen withexperimental tumorigenic data. Mutation data reported.When heated to decomposition it emits acrid smoke andirritating fumes.

Carcinogenicity

Benzo[k]fluoranthene wastested for carcinogenicity by dermal application in mice in one study, intraperitoneal injection into newborn mice in one study, and intrapulmonary implantation into rats in one study. Benzo[k]fluoranthene exhibited a significant carcinogenic activity in the dermal and intrapulmonary assays.

Source

Benzo[b]fluoranthene and benzo[k]fluoranthene were detected in 8 diesel fuels at concentrations ranging from 0.0027 to 3.1 mg/L with a mean value of 0.266 mg/L (Westerholm and Li, 1994). Also present in gasoline (9 μg/L), bitumen (34–1,140 μg/L), crude oil (<1 ppm) (quoted, Verschueren, 1983), and coal (32.5 g/kg) (Lao et al., 1975).
Based on laboratory analysis of 7 coal tar samples, benzo[k]fluoranthene concentrations ranged from 350 to 3,000 ppm (EPRI, 1990). Identified in high-temperature coal tar pitches used in roofing operations at concentrations ranging from 1,670 to 4,500 mg/kg (Malaiyandi et al., 1982).
Nine commercially available creosote samples contained benzo[k]fluoranthene at concentrations ranging from 2 to 67 mg/kg (Kohler et al., 2000).
Schauer et al. (2001) measured organic compound emission rates for volatile organic compounds, gas-phase semi-volatile organic compounds, and particle phase organic compounds from the residential (fireplace) combustion of pine, oak, and eucalyptus. The particle-phase emission rates of benzo[k]fluoranthene were 0.671 mg/kg of pine burned, 0.303 mg/kg of oak burned, and 0.286 mg/kg of eucalyptus burned.
California Phase II reformulated gasoline contained benzo[k]fluoranthene at a concentration of 280 μg/kg. Particle-phase tailpipe emission rate from a noncatalyst-equipped gasoline-powered automobile was 32.7 μg/km (Schauer et al., 2002).
Under atmospheric conditions, a low rank coal (0.5–1 mm particle size) from Spain was burned in a fluidized bed reactor at seven different temperatures (50 °C increments) beginning at 650 °C. The combustion experiment was also conducted at different amounts of excess oxygen (5 to 40%) and different flow rates (700 to 1,100 L/h). At 20% excess oxygen and a flow rate of 860 L/h, the amount of benzo[k]fluoranthene emitted ranged from 0 ng/kg at three temperatures (650, 750, and 950 °C) to 180.5 ng/kg at 850 °C. The greatest amount of PAHs emitted were observed at 750 °C (Mastral et al., 1999).

Environmental Fate

Soil. Based on aerobic soil die-away test data, the half-life in soil ranged from 910 d to 5.86 yr (Bossert et al., 1984).
Photolytic. The atmospheric half-life was estimated to range from 1.1 to 11 h (Atkinson, 1987). Chemical/Physical. Benzo[k]fluoranthene will not hydrolyze because it has no hydrolyzable functional group (Kollig, 1995).