Photoluminescence spectroscopy

As part of the physical inorganic chemistry tutorial series, this presentation will cover the fundamental aspects of light emission emanating from the electronically excited states of molecules and materials, which is collectively termed photoluminescence. Since this presentation is intended for the novice, the phenomenon of photoluminescence will be introduced with minimal use of theory and mathematics. Following descriptions of the general characteristics of fluorescence and phosphorescence, their spectra and other relevant details, photoluminescence quantum yields and excited state lifetimes will be defined. Armed with this information, photoluminescence quenching (excited state quenching) phenomena will then be discussed from which the Stern-Volmer relation is readily derived. If time permits, instrumentation used in the collection of static and dynamic photoluminescence data will also be described.