Mahavir Education Trust's
SHAH & ANCHOR KUTCHHI ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Chembur, Mumbai - 400 088
Jablonski diagram,
Fluorescence and phosphorescence
Neelam Jagtap
Mahavir Education Trust's
SHAH & ANCHOR KUTCHHI ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Chembur, Mumbai - 400 088
Syllabus-
• Emission spectroscopy- Principle,
Instrumentation and applications
(Flame Photometry)(lect-1)
• Introduction to fluorescence and
phosphorescence, Jablonski diagram,
• Application of fluorescence in medicine only
Mahavir Education Trust's
SHAH & ANCHOR KUTCHHI ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Chembur, Mumbai - 400 088
Introduction to fluorescence and phosphorescence
Fluorescence and Phosphorescence are
the types of Luminescence –which means emission of light that does not arise from
heating
It is the light produced at lower temperature and is called as cold light.
Types of luminescence
Photoluminescence(absorption of photon)
Cathodoluminescence(bombardment by electron)
Chemiluminescence(initiated by chemical reaction)
Electroluminescence(initiated by applied electric field)
Thermoluminescence(activated by heating)
Radioluminescence(bombardment by ionizing radiations)
Mahavir Education Trust's
SHAH & ANCHOR KUTCHHI ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Chembur, Mumbai - 400 088
What is the Triplet Excited State?
The triplet state is more stable than the singlet state because it has more
unpaired electrons. The triplet state has three unpaired electrons, while
the singlet state only has one unpaired electron. The triplet state is also
lower in energy than the singlet state.
Mahavir Education Trust's
SHAH & ANCHOR KUTCHHI ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Chembur, Mumbai - 400 088
Jablonski diagram
Mahavir Education Trust's
SHAH & ANCHOR KUTCHHI ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Chembur, Mumbai - 400 088
Jablonski diagrams a graphical representation
used in chemistry and physics to illustrate electronic transitions between energy levels
in molecules, particularly in processes like fluorescence and phosphorescence.
A Jablonski diagram is typically depicted as a series of horizontal lines representing
different electronic energy levels within a molecule.
The ground state (lowest energy level) is usually shown at the bottom, with excited
states depicted above it. The diagram illustrates transitions between these energy
levels due to processes such as absorption, emission, and non-radiative decay.
Mahavir Education Trust's
SHAH & ANCHOR KUTCHHI ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Chembur, Mumbai - 400 088
Table : The characteristic lifetimes of the radiative and non-radiative transitions.
Transition Timescale Type
Absorption 10¯¹⁵ s Radiative
Vibrational Relaxation 10¯¹² – 10¯¹⁰ s Non-Radiative
Fluorescence 10¯¹⁰ – 10¯⁷ s Radiative
Internal Conversion 10¯¹¹ – 10¯⁹ s Non-Radiative
Intersystem Crossing 10¯¹⁰ – 10¯⁶ s Non-Radiative
Phosphorescence 10¯⁶ – 10 s Radiative
Mahavir Education Trust's
SHAH & ANCHOR KUTCHHI ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Chembur, Mumbai - 400 088
Here are the key features of a Jablonski diagram:
1. Ground State (S0): The lowest energy state of the molecule.
Electrons normally reside in this state.
2. Excited States (S1, S2, etc.): Higher energy states that the molecule can occupy after absorbing
energy. These states are typically transient and last for very short durations.
3. Absorption(10-15 s ): When a molecule absorbs a photon of light, it can have transition from the
ground state to an excited state. This process is represented by an upward arrow on the diagram.
While intersystem crossing 10-10 to 10-8 s involves transitions between states of different spin
multiplicities.(Singlet to Triplet )
Mahavir Education Trust's
SHAH & ANCHOR KUTCHHI ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Chembur, Mumbai - 400 088
The key features of a Jablonski diagram…..contd
4. Fluorescence: (10-10 to 10-7 s) If the molecule relaxes from an excited state(S2 or S1 ie Singlet) to the
ground state(S0) with the emission of a photon, it undergoes fluorescence. This process is typically rapid
and occurs on the order of nanoseconds to microseconds.
5. Phosphorescence: (10-6 to 10 s ) If the molecule relaxes from an excited state T1 OR T2 to the ground
state S0 with the emission of a photon, but with in microseconds to seconds), it undergoes a delay
phosphorescence.
6. Internal Conversion and Intersystem Crossing: These are non- radiative processes where the
molecule dissipates excess energy as heat without emitting a photon. Internal conversion (10-11 to 10-9 s)
involves transitions between electronic states of the same spin multiplicity,(Singlet to Singlet)
while intersystem crossing (10-10 to 10-8 s ) involves transitions between states of different spin
multiplicities. .(Singlet to Triplet )
Mahavir Education Trust's
SHAH & ANCHOR KUTCHHI ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Chembur, Mumbai - 400 088
• Application of fluorescence in medicine only
• Fluorescence is a powerful technique for studying molecular interaction in analytical
chemistry, biochemistry, cell biology, physiology, nephrology, cardiology, photo chemistry
and environmental sciences.
• 1. Laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy of human tissues for cancer diagnosis:
• Laser induced fluorescence is used to diagnose cancer .A drug (hematoporphyrin
derivative HpD) is systematically administered so that it is selectively retained by a tumor.
When photo excited with light of appropriate wavelength, the drug localized in the tumor
fluoresces. This fluorescence is used for detection and imaging of the tumor.
• 2. Photodynamic therapy of tumor: Photo excitation leads to colonization of the triplet . The
molecule in the excited triplet state can directly react with the biomolecules or lead to
generation of singlet oxygen that is harmful to the host tissue . The resulting destruction of
the host tissue is exploited for photodynamic therapy of tumor.
• 3. Detection of glucose: Blood glucose levels are indicator of human health conditions.
Abnormal amount of glucose gives significant information of disease such as diabetes or
hypoglycaemia. In recent years, bio-molecules stabilized Au nanoclusters are used for
sensitive detection of glucose.
Mahavir Education Trust's
SHAH & ANCHOR KUTCHHI ENGINEERING COLLEGE
Chembur, Mumbai - 400 088
• Application of fluorescence in medicine only
• Application of fluorescence spectrum in drug analysis
• In the field of drug analysis, fluorescence spectroscopy analysis can be used to identify the active
components of drugs, study pharmacokinetics, clinical pharmacological efficacy analysis, and so on.
Conventional fluorescence analysis was first used to analyze the antimalarial drug quinine. With the
development of fluorescence analysis, it is widely used in the analysis of antimicrobial drugs,
analgesics, sedatives and hemostatic drugs.
• ADDITIONAL..INFORMATION FOR REFERENCE…..
Application of fluorescence spectrum in food
Fluorescence analysis is mainly used in this field to analyze and detect minerals and metal elements,
amino acids, vitamins, fungal contamination, additives, preservatives, harmful substances in food
packaging, pesticide residues, etc. in food. Its combination with HPLC, TLC, FIA, and other
technologies can improve the direction of various substances in food.
