Fluorescence or Phosphorescence

The total fluorescence (or phosphorescence) intensity is proportional to the quanta of light absorbed, To — T, and to the efficiency (f>, which is the ratio of quanta absorbed to quanta emitted ... 

The fraction of absorbed photons that produce a desired event, such as fluorescence or phosphorescence (4>). 

A fluorescence or phosphorescence spectrum in which the emission intensity at a fixed wavelength is measured as a function of the wavelength used for excitation. 

Molecular fluorescence and, to a lesser extent, phosphorescence have been used for the direct or indirect quantitative analysis of analytes in a variety of matrices. A direct quantitative analysis is feasible when the analyte s quantum yield for fluorescence or phosphorescence is favorable. When the analyte is not fluorescent or phosphorescent or when the quantum yield for fluorescence or phosphorescence is unfavorable, an indirect analysis may be feasible. One approach to an indirect analysis is to react the analyte with a reagent, forming a product with fluorescent properties. Another approach is to measure a decrease in fluorescence when the analyte is added to a solution containing a fluorescent molecule. A decrease in fluorescence is observed when the reaction between the analyte and the fluorescent species enhances radiationless deactivation, or produces a nonfluorescent product. The application of fluorescence and phosphorescence to inorganic and organic analytes is considered in this section. 

Standardizing the Method Equations 10.32 and 10.33 show that the intensity of fluorescent or phosphorescent emission is proportional to the concentration of the photoluminescent species, provided that the absorbance of radiation from the excitation source (A = ebC) is less than approximately 0.01. Quantitative methods are usually standardized using a set of external standards. Calibration curves are linear over as much as four to six orders of magnitude for fluorescence and two to four orders of magnitude for phosphorescence. Calibration curves become nonlinear for high concentrations of the photoluminescent species at which the intensity of emission is given by equation 10.31. Nonlinearity also may be observed at low concentrations due to the presence of fluorescent or phosphorescent contaminants. As discussed earlier, the quantum efficiency for emission is sensitive to temperature and sample matrix, both of which must be controlled if external standards are to be used. In addition, emission intensity depends on the molar absorptivity of the photoluminescent species, which is sensitive to the sample matrix. 

Sensitivity From equations 10.32 and 10.33 we can see that the sensitivity of a fluorescent or phosphorescent method is influenced by a number of parameters. The importance of quantum yield and the effect of temperature and solution composition on f and p already have been considered. Besides quantum yield, the sensitivity of an analysis can be improved by using an excitation source that has a greater... 

Selectivity The selectivity of molecular fluorescence and phosphorescence is superior to that of absorption spectrophotometry for two reasons first, not every compound that absorbs radiation is fluorescent or phosphorescent, and, second, selectivity between an analyte and an interferant is possible if there is a difference in either their excitation or emission spectra. In molecular luminescence the total emission intensity is a linear sum of that from each fluorescent or phosphorescent species. The analysis of a sample containing n components, therefore, can be accomplished by measuring the total emission intensity at n wavelengths. 

If emission is from only one vibrational level of the upper electronic state it is referred to as single vibronic level fluorescence (or phosphorescence). 

Show by a diagram why the energy of radiation emitted from an excited electronic state (by fluorescence or phosphorescence) is of lower energy than the exciting radiation. Would you expect the shift to lower energy to be more pronounced for fluorescence or phosphorescence Explain. 

Colorless substances absorb at wavelengths shorter than those of the visible range (the UV range normally amenable to analysis X = 400...200 nm). Such compounds can be detected by the use of UV-sensitive detectors (photomultipliers. Sec. 2.2.3.1). Substances that absorb in the UV range and are stimulated to fluorescence or phosphorescence (luminescence) can be detected visually if they are irradiated with UV light. 

This effect, which can also be produced if fluorescent substances are applied to the chromatogram by spraying or dipping after development, is an absorption effect and not a quenching process in the true sense of the word. It is correct to refer to fluorescence or phosphorescence diminishing. The more absorbant sample molecules there are present in the zone the darker this will appear (Fig. 4B). 

However, the direct determination of absorption at the wavelength of maximum absorption is more sensitive (or in the worst case at least as sensitive) as the indirect measurement of absorption by fluorescence or phosphorescence quenching. 

The luminescence of an excited state generally decays spontaneously along one or more separate pathways light emission (fluorescence or phosphorescence) and non-radiative decay. The collective rate constant is designated k° (lifetime r°). The excited state may also react with another entity in the solution. Such a species is called a quencher, Q. Each quencher has a characteristic bimolecular rate constant kq. The scheme and rate law are... 

In addition to heat emission, radiative decay processes may also occur, in which light is emitted due to a transition from the lowest excited singlet or triplet state to the ground state (fluorescence or phosphorescence). In order to effect rapid and efficient conversion of optical energy (the laser) to heat, dyes which exhibit low fluorescence and in which excitation primarily involves the singlet states are the most suitable for heat-mode recording.196... 

Spectroscopic techniques look at the way photons of light are absorbed quantum mechanically. X-ray photons excite inner-shell electrons, ultra-violet and visible-light photons excite outer-shell (valence) electrons. Infrared photons are less energetic, and induce bond vibrations. Microwaves are less energetic still, and induce molecular rotation. Spectroscopic selection rules are analysed from within the context of optical transitions, including charge-transfer interactions The absorbed photon may be subsequently emitted through one of several different pathways, such as fluorescence or phosphorescence. Other photon emission processes, such as incandescence, are also discussed. 

Lifetime [3,9-11] based sensors rely on the determination of decay time of the fluorescence or phosphorescence. Typically, the fluorescence lifetime is 2-20 ps and phosphorescence lifetime is 1 ps to 10 s. Lifetime-based sensors utilize the fact that analytes influence the lifetime of the fluorophore. Thus all dynamic quenchers of luminescence or suitable quenchers can be assayed this way. The relationship between lifetimes in the absence (t0) and presence (t) of a quencher is given by Stern and Volmer ... 

Reppy MA, Pindzola BA, Sharma B, Zecher M (2007) Supported polydiacetylene 3-D arrays for fluorescent or phosphorescent detection US Patent Application 20,070,248,950... 

A value of N can be obtained from the reference experiment. Assume that the radiant energies (E) supplied during the main and the reference experiments are identical. Now recall equation 10.3, and suppose that E[ is negligible, and that the nonphotoreactive substance does not decay by fluorescence or phosphorescence ( j = 0). Because its transmittance (T) is easily measurable and E[ = TE, equation 10.3 becomes... 

The phthalocyanines, naphthalocyanines, and certain of their metal derivatives (Figure 6.17) are infrared fluorophores. 61"64 As a class, they are exceptionally stable compounds, with copper (Cu) phthalocyanine (not a fluorophore) remaining intact above 300 °C in air. First used for textile dyeing in the last century and still widely used, there is a rich chemistry of phthalocyanines. Most derivatives can be made by prolonged heating of a phthalimide or phthalic acid derivative with a metal in powder or salt form at elevated temperature. Several derivatives absorb in the near-IR, and either fluoresce or phosphoresce. The electronic transitions of phthalocyanines are complex and have been extensively studied, at least in part because the symmetry of the molecule makes theoretical calculations of its spectroscopic behavior more tractable. Unsubstituted phthalocyanines and naphthalocyanines are, as a class, very insoluble in solvents other than, for instance, nitrobenzene. Sulfonated phthalocyanines are water soluble and exhibit spectra comparable to the parent derivative. Photolumines-cent phthalocyanines (Pcs) include SiPc, ZnPc, and PC itself. These compounds have been little used for practical infrared fluorometry to date however, Diatron Corpora-... 

From the practical point of view, the radiative decay rate kr may be assumed to be independent of the external parameters surrounding the excited sensor molecule. Its value is determined by the intrinsic inability of the molecule to remain in the excited state. The radiative decay rate kr is a function of the unperturbed electronic configuration of the molecule. In summary, for a given luminescent molecule, its unperturbed fluorescent or phosphorescent decay rate (or lifetime) may be regarded to be only a function of the nature of the molecule. 

The photochemistry of borazine delineated in detail in these pages stands in sharp contrast to that of benzene. The present data on borazine photochemistry shows that similarities between the two compounds are minimal. This is due in large part to the polar nature of the BN bond in borazine relative to the non-polar CC bond in benzene. Irradiation of benzene in the gas phase produces valence isomerization to fulvene and l,3-hexadien-5-ynes Fluorescence and phosphorescence have been observed from benzene In contrast, fluorescence or phosphorescence has not been found from borazine, despite numerous attempts to observe it. Product formation results from a borazine intermediate (produced photochemically) which reacts with another borazine molecule to form borazanaphthalene and a polymer. While benzene shows polymer formation, the benzyne intermediate is not known to be formed from photolysis of benzene, but rather from photolysis of substituted derivatives such as l,2-diiodobenzene ... 

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