Electronic excitation between singlet states

Fig. 3. Electronic excitation between singlet states superimposed by vibration giving rise to a vibrational progression for absorption (A), fluorescence (F) and phosphorescence (Ph). Reprinted from [7] with permission of Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York. Copyright 1992...

Emission of light due to an allowed electronic transition between excited and ground states having the same spin multiplicity, usually singlet. Lifetimes for such transitions are typically around 10 s. Originally it was believed that the onset of fluorescence was instantaneous (within 10 to lO-" s) with the onset of radiation but the discovery of delayed fluorescence (16), which arises from thermal excitation from the lowest triplet state to the first excited singlet state and has a lifetime comparable to that for phosphorescence, makes this an invalid criterion. Specialized terms such as photoluminescence, cathodoluminescence, anodoluminescence, radioluminescence, and Xray fluorescence sometimes are used to indicate the type of exciting radiation. 

The delocalization of excessive a- (or P-) spins and the bond polarization can take place among radical orbitals, p and q, and the central n (or o) and n (or o ) orbitals, resulting in the electron transferred configurations (T) and locally excited configurations (E), respectively (Fig. 5a). The delocalization-polarization mechanisms are different between singlet and triplet states, as addressed in the following subsections. 

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