Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have found applications in a variety of industries including dyes, drugs, semiconductors, fluorescent reagents, chemiluminescent reagents, and as polychromatic and antistatic additives for plastics. This up-to-date, single volume reference source brings together all essential information on the physical and spectral properties, methods of synthesis, and chemical reactivity of PAHs, both alternant and nonalternant. The title also covers the investigations of PAHs as carcinogens and pollutants. As this important class of molecules are virtually ignored in most chemistry programs, this book will be a strong addition to the work of anyone involved in any aspect of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, chemical carcinogenesis, and environmental pollution.