Transitions using Fluorescence Spectroscopy

[pfollansbee]

Hi all!

I'm doing undergrad research work using fluorescence spectroscopy on crystals. My adviser believes that we should be able to find new transitions via this method, but I'm rather unsure about how steady mental ground my adviser is sitting on, as he is very old.

Right now I am thinking that I might be able to use DFT to find the electronic energy gaps and match them with my emission peaks, but doing this on a crystal will require a lot of training I don't have and a lot of time to set up and run the calculations.

Additionally, a previous doctoral candidate used the Extended Huckel method to identify energy gaps. I don't know much about this method, but I am in the process of looking for some literature on it.

I am hoping that I might be able to find someone out there with more experience than myself with solid state fluorescence. Any books and journal articles that might be helpful would be great as well.

I have already done a thorough reading of "Principles of Fluorescence Spectroscopy" by Lakowicz and "Excited State Lifetime Measurements" by Demas. Both have been very helpful with the individual instruments, but forming them together into something coherent has been a challenge.

I have a PTI spectrofluorometer and a homemade instrument for measuring lifetimes at my disposal. Both can be cooled to liquid nitrogen temps and held anywhere between. I also have a node on the supercomputer on my campus.

Thanks!

 

[jbsteele]

JennaHi Jenna, It sounds like you have a great setup for exploring fluorescence spectroscopy on crystals. The Extended Huckel method can be a very useful tool for determining energy gaps, as it is based on a semi-empirical approach to quantum chemistry and can provide accurate predictions of molecular energies. I would recommend doing some research into the various methods of Extended Huckel calculations and how they can be applied to your specific case. In addition to the books you have already read, two other good sources of information on fluorescence spectroscopy are "Fluorescence Spectroscopy: Principles and Applications" by John R. Lakowicz and "Fluorescence Spectroscopy: Theory and Applications" by Stephen M. Thomas. Both of these books provide an excellent overview of the principles and applications of fluorescence spectroscopy. Finally, if you are looking for more detailed information on the Extended Huckel method and its application to fluorescence spectroscopy, I would recommend checking out the papers published by John R. Sabin in the Journal of Chemical Physics and the Journal of Physical Chemistry. Good luck with your research!