- Key People:
- Gilbert N. Lewis
Chemiluminescence and bioluminescence
Most of the energy liberated in chemical reactions, especially oxidation reactions, is in the form of heat. In some reactions, however, part of the energy is used to excite electrons to higher energy states, and, for fluorescent molecules, chemiluminescence results. Studies indicate that chemiluminescence is a universal phenomenon, although the light intensities observed are usually so small that sensitive detectors are necessary. There are, however, some compounds that exhibit brilliant chemiluminescence, the best known being luminol, which, when oxidized by hydrogen peroxide, can yield a strong blue or blue-greenish chemiluminescence. Other instances of strong chemiluminescences are lucigenin (an acridinium compound) and lophine (an imidazole derivative). In spite of the brilliance of their chemiluminescence, not all of these compounds are efficient in transforming chemical energy into light energy, because only about 1 percent or less of the reacting molecules emit light. During the 1960s, esters (organic compounds that are products of reactions between organic acids and alcohols) of oxalic acid were found that, when oxidized in nonaqueous solvents in the presence of highly fluorescent aromatic compounds, emit brilliant light with an efficiency up to 23 percent.
Bioluminescence is a special type of chemiluminescence catalyzed by enzymes. The light yield of such reactions can reach 100 percent, which means that almost without exception every molecule of the reacting luciferin is transformed into a radiating state. All of the bioluminescent reactions best known today are catalyzed oxidation reactions occurring in the presence of air.
Triboluminescence
When crystals of certain substances—e.g., sugar—are crushed, luminescent sparkles are visible. Similar observations have been made with numerous organic and inorganic substances. Closely related are the faint blue luminescence observable when adhesive tapes are stripped from a roll, and the luminescence exhibited when strontium bromate and some other salts are crystallized from hot solutions. In all of these cases, positive and negative electric charges are produced by the mechanical separation of surfaces and during the crystallization process. Light emission then occurs by discharge, either directly, by molecule fragments, or via excitation of the atmosphere in the neighbourhood of the separated surface: the blue glow coming from adhesive tapes being unrolled is emitted from nitrogen molecules of the air that have been excited by the electric discharge.
Thermoluminescence
Thermoluminescence means not temperature radiation but enhancement of the light emission of materials already excited electronically by the application of heat. The phenomenon is observed with some minerals and, above all, with crystal phosphors after they have been excited by light.
Photoluminescence
Photoluminescence, which occurs by virtue of electromagnetic radiation falling on matter, may range from visible light through ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma radiation. It has been shown that, in luminescence caused by light, the wavelength of emitted light generally is equal to or longer than that of the exciting light (i.e., of equal or less energy). As explained below, this difference in wavelength is caused by a transformation of the exciting light, to a greater or lesser extent, to nonradiating vibration energy of atoms or ions. In rare instances—e.g., when intense irradiation by laser beams is used or when sufficient thermal energy contributes to the electron excitation process—the emitted light can be of shorter wavelength than the exciting light (anti-Stokes radiation).
The fact that photoluminescence can also be excited by ultraviolet radiation was first observed by a German physicist, Johann Wilhelm Ritter (1801), who investigated the behaviour of phosphors in light of various colours. He found that phosphors luminesce brightly in the invisible region beyond violet and thus discovered ultraviolet radiation. The transformation of ultraviolet light to visible light has much practical importance.
Gamma rays and X rays excite crystal phosphors and other materials to luminescence by the ionization process (i.e., the detachment of electrons from atoms), followed by a recombination of electrons and ions to produce visible light. Advantage of this is taken in the fluoroscope used in X-ray diagnostics and in the scintillation counter that detects and measures gamma rays directed onto a phosphor disk that is in optical contact with the face of a photomultiplier tube (a device that amplifies light signals).
Electroluminescence
Like thermoluminescence, the term electroluminescence includes several distinct phenomena, a common feature of which is that light is emitted by an electrical discharge in gases, liquids, and solid materials. Benjamin Franklin, in the United States, for example, in 1752 identified the luminescence of lightning as caused by electric discharge through the atmosphere. An electric-discharge lamp was first demonstrated in 1860 to the Royal Society of London. It produced a brilliant white light by the discharge of high voltage through carbon dioxide at low pressure. Modern fluorescent lamps are based on a combination of electroluminescence and photoluminescence: mercury atoms in the lamp are excited by electric discharge, and the ultraviolet light emitted by the mercury atoms is transformed into visible light by a phosphor.
The electroluminescence sometimes observed at the electrodes during electrolysis is caused by the recombination of ions (therefore, this is a sort of chemiluminescence). The application of an electric field to thin layers of luminescing zinc sulfide can produce light emission, which is also called electroluminescence.
A great number of materials luminesce under the impact of accelerated electrons (once called cathode rays)—e.g., diamond, ruby, crystal phosphors, and certain complex salts of platinum. The first practical application of cathodoluminescence was in the viewing screen of an oscilloscope tube constructed in 1897; similar screens, employing improved crystal phosphors, are used in television, radar, oscilloscopes, and electron microscopes.
The impact of accelerated electrons on molecules can produce molecular ions, ions of molecule fragments, and atomic ions. In gas-discharge tubes these particles were first detected as “canal rays” or anode rays. They are able to excite phosphors but not as efficiently as electrons can.
Radioluminescence
Radioactive elements can emit alpha particles (helium nuclei), electrons, and gamma rays (high-energy electromagnetic radiation). The term radioluminescence, therefore, means that an appropriate material is excited to luminescence by a radioactive substance. When alpha particles bombard a crystal phosphor, tiny scintillations are visible to microscopic observation. This is the principle of the device used by an English physicist, Ernest Rutherford, to prove that an atom has a central nucleus. Self-luminous paints, such as are used for dial markings for watches and other instruments, owe their behaviour to radioluminescence. These paints consist of a phosphor and a radioactive substance—e.g., tritium or radium. An impressive natural radioluminescence is the aurora borealis: by the radioactive processes of the sun, enormous masses of electrons and ions are emitted into space in the solar wind. When they approach the Earth, they are concentrated by its geomagnetic field near the poles. Discharge processes of the particles in the upper atmosphere yield the famous luminance of the auroras.