Fluorescence Quantum Efficiency Research Articles

A Thorough Examination of the Variables Affecting the Quantum Efficiency of Radiative Decay of Trichlorotriphenylmethyl Radicals.

Fluorescence quantum efficiency is determined by the competition between radiation and nonradiation processes of the excited states. Understanding the factors affecting the radiation and nonradiative decay rates is of great significance for the design of luminescent materials. The excitation state deactivation mechanisms of singlet and triplet states have been extensively studied, providing a comprehensive understanding of the processes involved in the relaxation of these states. However, research on free radical systems involving doublet states is relatively scarce. Therefore, in this study, radiation and nonradiative decay rates and the mechanism of a series of trichlorotriphenylmethyl-based radicals were investigated theoretically. The results indicate that the relative rotations of electron donor and acceptor, as well as the internal rotations of trichlorotriphenylmethyl moiety, play important roles in energy dissipation through nonradiative channels. The effect of a solid-state environment on the radiation and nonradiative decay rates of radicals was investigated using a combination of quantum mechanics and molecular mechanics methods. The results indicate that the solid-state environment restricts the expansion of the conjugated system in the excited state of radicals, leading to a slight decrease in radiative decay rate. In addition, the solid-state environment reduces the reorganization energy and also affects the adiabatic excitation energy of radicals. The reduction in reorganization energy results in a decrease in nonradiative rate, while the opposite effect is observed for adiabatic excitation energy. The nonradiative rate of radicals in a solid-state environment is thus inflected by a combination of molecular geometric structure relaxation and ground-excited state energy gap.

Reviewing the effect of aggregates in Rhodamine 6G aqueous solution on fluorescence quantum efficiency

Rhodamines constitute a class of dyes extensively investigated and applied in various contexts, primarily attributed to their high luminescence quantum yield. This study delves into the impact of aggregation on the thermal and optical properties of Rhodamine 6G (R-6G) solutions in distilled water. Examined properties encompass thermal diffusivity (D), temperature coefficient of the refractive index (dn/dT), fluorescence quantum efficiency (η), and energy transfer (ET). These parameters were assessed through thermal lens (TL) and conventional absorption and emission spectroscopic techniques. The dimerization of R-6G solutions was revisited, revealing that an increase in R-6G concentration alters the features of absorption and emission spectra due to dimer formation, resulting in unexpected behavior of η. Consequently, we introduce a novel model for the fraction of absorbed energy converted into heat (φ), which accounts for emissions from both monomers and dimers. Employing this model, we investigate and discuss the concentration-dependent behaviors of η for monomers (ηm) and dimers (ηd). Notably, our findings demonstrate that ηm values necessitate ηd = 0.2, a relatively substantial value that cannot be disregarded. Additionally, applying the Förster theory for dipole–dipole electric ET, we calculate microparameters for ET between monomers (CDD) and monomer–dimer (CDA). Critical ranges for ET in each case are quantified. Microparameter analysis indicates that ET between monomer–monomer and monomer–dimer species of R-6G dissolved in distilled water holds significance, particularly in determining ηm. These results bear significance, especially in scenarios involving high dye concentrations. While applicable to R-6G in water, similar assessments in other media featuring aggregates are encouraged.

Versatile polyamides with new triphenylamine monomer based on dinaphtho furan as core for electrochromic/electrofluorochromic device, TNP detection and memory storage

In order to obtain a versatile electrochromic (EC) and electrofluorochromic (EFC) material with good processability, stable redox properties, high optical contrast and fast response, a novel diamine monomer, N1, N1'-(dinaphtho[2,1-b:1',2'-d] furan-5,9-diyl) bis(N1-(4-methoxyphenyl) benzene- 1,4-diamine) (DNFTPA-NH2), which introducing an oxa[5]helicene core into two electron-rich triphenylamine (TPA) blocks is designed and synthesized. Subsequently, four polyamides (PAs) were obtained via polycondensation of diamine with dicarboxylic acids, denoted as DNFTPA-CA, DNFTPA-OA, DNFTPA-NA and DNFTPA-SA, respectively. The four PAs show excellent solution processability and thermal stability, and cyclic voltammograms (CV) with excellent redox reversibility. Among them, DNFTPA-SA shows marked optical contrast of 34 % at 831 nm and rapid switching time (color/bleach, 3.23s/0.39s) between 0 V and 1.0 V, with no significant decay after 5000 s cycle. DNFTPA-CA exhibits high fluorescence (PL) quantum efficiency of 27 %, which is sensitive to explosive trinitrophenol (TNP) with a low detection limit of 7.24 × 10−2 μM. Given the practical application, it is deemed necessary to prepare EC/EFC device. The findings demonstrate the value of PAs for practical applications in EC/EFC device. Moreover, PAs used in memory devices with sandwich structure of ITO/PAs/Al demonstrate non-volatile flash-type behavior with excellent stability within 10000 s and current switching ratios up to 103. Thus, it provides a facile strategy for the design of polymers in the devices of EC/EFC, PL sensing detection and memristor.

Ultrabright NIR AIEgen nanoparticles‐enhanced lateral flow immunoassay platform for accurate diagnostics of complex samples

AbstractAccurate and sensitive near‐infrared (NIR) luminescent lateral flow immunoassay (LFIA) has attracted considerable attention in the field of point‐of‐care testing (POCT). However, the detection accuracy and sensitivity are often compromised by the low fluorescence quantum efficiency (<10%) of the NIR fluorescent probe. Herein, ultrabright NIR AIEgen nanoparticles (PS@AIE830NPs) composed of polystyrene (PS) nanoparticles and NIR aggregation‐induced emission luminogen (AIEgen) with the maximum emission at 830 nm (AIE830) is reported, and its potential to promote an accurate and sensitive detection of complex samples by LFIA is described. The relative quantum yield (QY) of the PS@AIE830NPs was 14.76%, which was superior to that of the polymer embedding method and indocyanine green (ICG)‐based NIR nanoparticles. The PS@AIE830NPs immunolabeled‐LFIA combined with laboratory‐built NIR‐LFIA portable quantitative instruments (detected light range > 800 nm) completely eliminated background interference and allowed highly accurate and sensitive detection without any pre‐treatment steps. The limits of detection (LODs) for aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in soy sauce, alpha hemolysin (Hla) of Staphylococcus aureus biomarker in joint fluid, and C‐reactive protein (CRP) in human haemolysed samples were 0.01 ng mL−1, 0.02 µg mL−1, and 0.156 mg L−1, respectively, commensurating with those of the corresponding gold standard assays and covering the detection range of interests. It is anticipated that the ultrabright NIR AIEgen nanoparticles will serve as a universally applicable signal probe for NIR‐LFIA diagnostics, promising to expand the range of applications for quantitative detection of complex samples.

Fluorescence Detection of Pb2+ in Environmental Water Using Biomass Carbon Quantum Dots Modified with Acetamide-Glycolic Acid Deep Eutectic Solvent.

In this study, a novel green fluorescent probe material, nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs), was prepared by a one-step hydrothermal synthesis method using walnut green skin as a carbon source and acetamide-glycolic acid deep eutectic solvent (AGADES) as a modifier. By covalent coupling, the amide chromophore in AGADES is designed to cover the surface of walnut green skin carbon quantum dots (W-CQDs), forming a fluorescence energy resonance effect and improving the fluorescence performance of the carbon quantum dots. The prepared N-CQDs have a uniform particle size distribution, and the fluorescence quantum efficiency has increased from 12.5% to 32.5%. Within the concentration range of 0.01~1000 μmol/L of Pb2+, the linear detection limit is 1.55 nmol/L, which can meet the trace detection of Pb2+ in the water environment, and the recycling rate reaches 97%. This method has been successfully applied to the fluorescence detection and reuse of Pb2+ in actual water bodies, providing new ideas and methods for the detection of heavy metal ions in environmental water.

Fluorophor Embedded MOFs Steering Gas Ultra‐Recognition

AbstractThin‐film fluorescent sensors play critical roles in the gas sensing field. However, fluorescent sensing materials for practical applications are limited, because of the aggregation‐caused quenching (ACQ) effect and photobleaching. This study investigates a host–guest thin‐film fluorescence sensor by incorporating a fluorescent probe into a metal–organic framework (MOF). The fluorescent molecule Me4BOPHY‐1 acts as a recognition probe for the neurotoxin analog diethylchlorophosphite (DCP). The MOF (ZIF‐8) provides nanocavities for the confinement of guest molecules, which reduces the self‐aggregation of fluorescent molecules and pre‐enriches the target gas. By applying ZIF‐8 framework to disperse the fluorescent molecules, the ACQ effect of Me4BOPHY‐1 can be effectively overcome. The fluorescence quantum efficiency of the molecules is increased from 0.76% to 19.72%, which enables its ability for gas sensing with a fast response time of 3 s and a detection limit as low as 1.13 ppb. Besides, the MOF facilitates selectivity enhancement through the confinement effect, weakening the sensing response to the interference of HCl. Moreover, the confinement effect also ensures high photo‐stability as well as thermal stability. It can maintain fluorescence intensity under 4800 s’ laser irradiation. Thus, the host–guest design strategy offers a thin‐film fluorescence gas sensor with high 3S (sensitivity, selectivity, and stability) toward neurotoxin analytes.

Tunable Circularly Polarized Luminescence by Confining Dye Molecules within Chiral Layered Metal–Organic Framework

AbstractCircularly polarized luminescence (CPL) active materials have attracted widespread attention because of their potential applications. Nonetheless, it is still a great challenge to fabricate CPL materials with both high fluorescence quantum efficiency (Φ) and high luminescent asymmetry factor (glum). According to the unique structure characteristics of chiral layered metal–organic frameworks (CLMOFs), herein a novel strategy to construct high‐performance CPL materials, by utilizing the confinement effect of CLMOFs is developed. Conjugate dye molecules, such as fluorescent brighteners, fluorescein, and rhodamine B, which are readily subjected to aggregation‐caused quenching (ACQ) effect, are successfully intercalated into CLMOF matrix, affording blue, yellow–green, and red CPL, respectively. Both high Φ and glum values of up to 91% and 0.069 are obtained, owing to the distinct confinement effect of CLMOFs. After confining dye molecules within CLMOF, the ACQ effect is effectively inhibited, which is beneficial for fluorescence enhancement; simultaneously, the chirality transfer from CLMOF matrix to dyes by controlling their arrangement in the chiral confinement microenvironment, leading to the high glum values. Based on the full‐color and strong CPL, a multi‐dimensional code system is proposed. This work paves a new avenue to design and assemble CPL materials with high Φ and glum, which can be widely adopted.

Anthracene-triphenylamine materials with high luminance and negligible efficiency roll-off for organic light-emitting diodes

Two novel anthracene-triphenylamine emitters, TPA-tBuANT and TPA-PyrANT, were synthesized efficiently by the coupling reactions of anthracene and triphenylamine derivatives. They emit blue-green light in the diluted solutions, having emission peaks at 488 and 510 nm, and exhibit high photoluminescence fluorescence quantum efficiency (PLQY) of 53% and 80%, respectively. Their PLQY were 19% and 49% in solid states at 470 and 487 nm, respectively. Employing TPA-tBuANT as an emitter, the maximum external quantum efficiencies (EQEs) were up to 4.1% in the non-doped devices of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) and 5.2% in the doped devices. The maximum EQEs of the devices based on TPA-PyrANT were 4.5% for non-doped devices and 5.6% for the doped devices. The devices all exhibit negligible efficiency roll-off.

Synthesis of Regioregular and Random Boron-Fused Azomethine Conjugated Polymers for Film Morphology Control.

Regioregular and random conjugated polymers based on a boron-fused azomethine unit were synthesized by Sonogashira-Hagihara cross coupling reaction. Although these polymers exhibited similar optical properties in the solution states, a distinct difference was observed in the aggregation forming ability in the film states; scanning electron microscope (SEM) observation indicated the existence of fiber-like aggregates in the spin-coated film of the regioregular polymer, while regiorandom polymer showed no aggregate in the film state. Accordingly, the UV-vis absorption spectrum of the regioregular polymer showed an increased shoulder peak due to the aggregate formation, whereas the random one showed no change. Furthermore, an absolute fluorescence quantum efficiency of the regioregular polymer was enhanced in response to the aggregate disassembly via thermal annealing treatment. In this study, we demonstrate that controlling regioregularity of the conjugated polymers can induce the different morphological structures and thermal-responsive behaviors. These findings could be beneficial for the design strategy and potential applications of thin-film optoelectronic devices with stimuli-responsive properties.

Growth, Structure, and Spectroscopic Properties of a Disordered Nd:SrLaGaO4 Laser Crystal

A disordered Nd:SrLaGaO4 (Nd:SLG) laser crystal was successfully grown via the Czochralski (CZ) technique. The crystal structure, refractive index, polarized absorption spectra, and stimulated emission spectra were measured. The spectroscopic properties were studied intensively with the Judd–Ofelt (J-O) theory. The maximum absorption cross sections of π- and σ-polarization at 806 nm were calculated to be 3.73 × 10−20 and 4.05 × 10−20 cm2, corresponding to FWHMs of 6.00 and 6.10 nm, respectively. The maximum emission cross sections of π- and σ-polarization at 1076 nm were 3.97 × 10−20 and 4.12 × 10−20 cm2, with FWHMs of 30.21 and 19.44 nm, respectively. The decay life of the Nd3+:4F3/2 energy level was fitted to be 0.152 ms, and the fluorescence quantum efficiency was 72.72%. The inhomogeneous broadening in spectra benefiting from the disordered structure indicates the Nd:SLG crystal is a promising gain medium for ultrafast laser and tunable laser generations in the near infrared region.

The influence of heteroatoms on the circularly polarized luminescence performance of [7]helicene derivatives: aromatic vs. non-aromatic five-membered rings.

Helicenes are promising candidates for circularly polarized luminescence (CPL) materials, although the performance is poor due to the unsatisfactory dissymmetric factor (glum) and fluorescence quantum efficiency (ΦF). Herein, the influence of heteroatoms (C, Si, Ge, O, S and Se) on the electronic structures and chiroptical properties of [7]helicene derivatives is systematically investigated using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT calculations combined with the thermal vibration correlation function theory. The results reveal that the non-radiative energy consumption processes for helicene systems are closely related to the variation of bond length upon electronic excitation. Moreover, by introducing five-membered rings and heteroatoms, the dipole-forbidden S1 → S0 emission of [7]helicene changes to dipole-allowed transition due to the rearrangement of occupied orbitals and lifting of the nearly degenerate orbitals, resulting in an enhancement of ΦF. As the heteroatomic radius increases, ΦF decreases while the glum increases. Compared with the derivatives containing aromatic five-membered rings ([7]H-O, [7]H-S, and [7]H-Se), the non-aromatic counterparts ([7]H-C, [7]H-Si, and [7]H-Ge) exhibit a balance in ΦF and glum values. The present study helps to clarify the relationship between structures and chiroptical properties and offers a feasible strategy for the future design of helicene-based CPL materials.

Pressure effects on both fluorescent emission and charge transport properties of organic semiconductors: a computational study.

External pressure can regulate the photophysical property and charge transport performance of organic semiconductors, however, the underlying mechanism at the microscopic level is still elusive. Using thermal vibrational correlation function coupled quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics and full quantum charge transfer rate theory, we systematically explore the influence of pressure on fluorescence emission and charge transport behaviours of representative cyclooctatetrathiophene (COTh). It is found that, upon pressurization, the intramolecular configurations of COTh became more twisted, leading to the blue-shifted emission. The fluorescence quantum efficiency (FQE) of COTh crystals decreases monotonically in a wide pressure range of 0-4.38 GPa, because the increase of intermolecular electronic energy transfer rate constant (keet) is larger than the decrease of internal conversion rate constant (kic), and the variation of keet is dominant. The decrease in kic is attributed to the decreasing reorganization energy, reflecting the suppression of the low-frequency flipping vibrations of four thiophene rings and the high-frequency stretching vibrations of central cyclooctatetraene, while the keet increase is due to the simultaneous increase in exciton coupling and spectra overlap. Moreover, we predicted that the hole mobility of COTh increases monotonically by nearly an order of magnitude from 0.39 to 3.00 cm2 V-1 s-1 upon compression, because of the increase in transfer integral and the decrease of charged reorganization energy. Furthermore, its hole mobility exhibits obvious anisotropy. Our work systematically builds the external pressure, molecular packing, luminescence and transport properties relationships of organic semiconductors and provides theoretical guidance for the rational design of pressure responsive organic semiconductors with excellent photoelectric performance.

Combination of gold nanoclusters and silicon quantum dots for ratiometric fluorometry: One system, two mechanisms

A ratiometric fluorometry based on silicon quantum dots (SiQDs) and gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) is constructed for detecting activity of butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) in human serum. By using thiobutyrylcholine iodide (BTCh) as the substrate of BChE-catalyzed hydrolysis reaction, variation of fluorescence emission from AuNCs is employed as an indicator of BChE activity since one of the hydrolysis products, thiocholine (TCh), would influence the aggregation state of AuNCs and consequently led to the change of fluorescence quantum efficiency of AuNCs. It is interesting that there are two mechanisms working for the fluorescence emission of aggregated AuNCs: aggregation-induced emission enhancement (AIEE) and aggregation-caused quenching (ACQ) with the presence of TCh at very low and higher concentration levels, respectively. Although both of these mechanisms can be utilized for sensing BChE, their opposite influence on the fluorescence emission of aggregated AuNCs should be worthy of attention, especially in the process of developing fluorescence methods for detecting trace targets by using AuNCs. In order to eliminate the fluctuation of fluorophotometer, SiQDs is chosen as the fluorophore to develop by ratiometric fluorescence methods in this work. Additionally, obvious aggregation of AuNCs induces significant decrease of inner filter effect (IFE) on the fluorescence emitted from SiQDs, while mild aggregation of AuNCs demonstrates little IFE. The linear ranges for detecting activity of BChE are 0.004 – 0.05 U/L and 0.5 – 20 U/L by ratiometric fluorometry based on the AIEE and ACQ, respectively. The very different responses originated from AIEE and ACQ of AuNCs would respectively make their own contributions to the determination of BChE activities at very low or high levels, which facilitate the developments of enhanced or quenched fluorescence methods. However, the detection of BChE activities at medium levels might suffer from the combination of AIEE and ACQ with ambiguous fractions. Therefore, it must be careful during the processes of developing and applying fluorescence methods based on the AIEE and ACQ of AuNCs, as well as the process of evaluating their analytical performance.

Enhancement of the optical properties of a Dy3+:Sr3Gd2(BO3)4 crystal by Ca2+ co-doping

In this work, polycrystalline Dy3+:(Sr1-xCax)3Gd2(BO3)4 (x = 0–0.9) compounds doped with different concentrations of Ca2+ were synthesized by solid-state reaction. On the basis of their structural and spectral data, the optimal Ca2+ ions doping concentration of 60 at.% was determined. Then the Dy3+:(Sr0.4Ca0.6)3Gd2(BO3)4 crystal was obtained by the Czochralski (Cz) method. The crystal has a relatively high absorption cross-section at 453 nm, which is 0.98 × 10−21 cm2 (E//c) with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 9 nm (E//c). The maximum emission cross-section of the 4F9/2 → 6H13/2 transition at 576 nm is 5.62 × 10−21 cm2 (E//c) with a FWHM of 14 nm. The fluorescence quantum efficiency is 52.5 %. Compared with the Dy3+:Sr3Gd2(BO3)4 crystal, the emission cross-section and fluorescence quantum efficiency of the Dy3+:(Sr0.4Ca0.6)3Gd2(BO3)4 crystal have been significantly improved. These further increase the possibility of the crystal emitting a yellow laser.

Retrieval of leaf-level fluorescence quantum efficiency and NPQ-related xanthophyll absorption through spectral unmixing strategies for future VIS-NIR imaging spectroscopy

Current and future vegetation imaging spectroscopy satellites will bring a new data stream of information, of high scientific value to refine existing remote sensing products, and develop new ones. The sensors on board ESA's Fluorescence Explorer (FLEX) will cover the entire 500–780 nm range, designed to track the photosynthetic energy partitioning based on the key pigment players in the light reactions. To quantify the actual photosynthetic efficiency unambiguously, the dynamic pigment absorption behavior is crucial to complement the fluorescence information. An important role is given by the xanthophylls, regulating the non-photosynthetic quenching (NPQ) behavior which affects the 500–600 nm range. Therefore, this work focused on the development of a non-negative least squares (NNLS) spectral unmixing algorithm for reflectance (500–780 nm) retrieving the effective absorbance of individual pigments, i.e., Chlorophyll (Chl) a and b, beta-Carotene and xanthophylls. The NNLS fitting was applied to fit the total effective absorbance at leaf level, linearly composed of pigment and background absorption coefficient spectra. The model succeeded to obtain spectral fitting errors generally below 20% across the 500–780 nm range. Further, we focused on the further use of the effective absorbance by Chlorophyll a to calculate the absorbed photosynthetically active radiation or APAR Chl a. This product was combined with the total emitted fluorescence flux (670–780 nm), expressed in photon flux units, to obtain the fluorescence quantum efficiency (FQE), capturing the stress-related fluorescence quenching in the light reactions. Finally, we applied the leaf-based algorithm to foreseen FLEX image products simulated by the FLEX End-to-End Scene Generator. We were able to retrieve APAR Chl a with a RMSE of 85.5 μmol m−2 s−1 (NNLS with additional upper fitting constraints) and 158.2 μmol m−2 s−1 (regular NNLS), and FQE retrievals could be obtained with an R2 of 0.93 and 0.90, respectively. While the subtle xanthophyll absorption could be meaningfully fitted at the leaf scale, further improvements to the algorithms and an understanding of the physiological mechanisms are needed to deal with the complexity at larger scales. Given several challenges to be overcome, the proposed bottom-up strategy using specific pigment absorbance unmixing for (imaging) spectroscopy demonstrates the ongoing developments to complement the fluorescence product, with the aim to provide an unambiguous estimate on the actual carbon sequestration of vegetation.

Dipolar 1,3,6,8-tetrasubstituted pyrene-based emitters containing hole- and electron-transporting moieties: Syntheses, structures, optical properties, electrochemistry and electroluminescence

A series of dipolar 1,3,6,8-tetrasubstituted pyrene-based compounds (PyTPA, PyCaZ and Py3CaZ) with a D-π-A configuration were designed and synthesized. The characteristic of these report compounds is that the pyrene core possesses two electron-transporting benzimidazole moieties at 1,8-positions and two hole-transporting arylamine segments at 3,6-sites. These compounds were structurally characterized and their photoelectric properties were investigated by spectroscopy, electrochemical and theoretical studies. The intermolecular π-π interactions successfully suppressed in these polysubstituted pyrenes, which leads to relatively high absolute fluorescence quantum efficiencies in film state (73.89–85.74 %). These three compounds exhibit high thermal stability with their decomposition temperature up to 520 °C. Two types of solution-processing devices were fabricated using compounds PyTPA and Py3CaZ as representatives to investigate their electron-transporting, hole-transporting and light-emitting properties. The single layer device based on PyTPA exhibits a current efficiency of 8.02 cd/A and a maximum brightness of 24439 cd/m2 at 7.8 V.

Energy band gap modulation and photoinduced electron transfer fluorescence sensing properties of D–A conjugated polymers containing benzotriazole

AbstractTwo new conjugated polymers containing benzotriazole were synthesized via Suzuki coupling reaction, and the polymer with lower energy band gap was created by designing the structure of the acceptor unit by introducing thiophene unit at both ends of the benzotriazole. Surprisingly, the fluorescence emission of D–A conjugated polymer with modified unit shifted from blue to yellow light, and the polymer had a higher fluorescence quantum efficiency. In addition, thiophen benzimidazole was introduced as the side chain unit for the study of photoinduced electron transfer (PET) mechanism. The addition of Fe3+ and Cu2+ caused significant quenching of fluorescence of polymers, and the polymer with high energy band gap exhibited higher fluorescence quenching ability. Moreover, when exploring the fluorescence sensing of [P‐Fe3+] complex in the presence of anion, it was observed that the PO43− competed with [P‐Fe3+] complex for Fe3+, interrupting the fluorescence sensing mechanism eventually leading to the recovery of fluorescence. The design approach utilized in this survey for D–A conjugated polymer paves the way for a novel mean of functional control of fluorescence sensor based on PET fluorescence sensing.

Enhancing Solar-Induced Fluorescence Interpretation: Quantifying Fractional Sunlit Vegetation Cover Using Linear Spectral Unmixing

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is closely related to plant photosynthetic activity and has been used in different studies as a proxy for vegetation health status. However, in order to use SIF as a relevant indicator of plant physiological stress, it is necessary to accurately quantify the amount of light absorbed by the photosynthetic plant pigments, called the absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (APAR). The ratio between fluorescence emission and light absorption (i.e., SIF and APAR) is known as the fluorescence quantum efficiency (FQE). In this work, simultaneous measurements of SIF and reflected radiance were performed both at the leaf and canopy levels for Salvia farinacea and Datura stramonium plants. With the aim of disentangling the proportion of sunlit and shaded absorbed PAR, an ad hoc experimental setup was designed to provide a wide range of fraction vegetation cover (FVC) canopy settings. A linear spectral unmixing method was proposed to estimate the contribution of soil, sunlit, and shaded vegetation from the total reflectance spectrum measured at the canopy level. Later, the retrieved sunlit FVC (FVCsunlit) was used to estimate the (dominant) green APAR flux, and this was combined with the integral of the spectrally resolved fluorescence to calculate the FQE. The results of this study demonstrated that under no-stress conditions and independently of the FVC, similar FQE values were observed when SIF was properly normalised by the green APAR flux. The results obtained showed that the reflectance spectra retrieved using a linear unmixing method had a maximum RMSE of less than 0.03 along the spectrum. The FVCsunlit evaluation showed an RMSE of 14% with an R2 of 0.84. Moreover, the FQE values obtained at the top of the canopy (TOC) were found statistically comparable to the reference values at the leaf level. These results support further efforts to improve the interpretation of fluorescence based on field spectroscopy and the further upscaling to imaging spectroscopy at airborne and satellite levels.

Improvement of the Stability and Optical Properties of CsPbBr3 QDs.

All-inorganic perovskite quantum dots (CsPbX3 QDs) (X = Cl, Br, I) have the advantages of adjustable emission position, narrow emission spectrum, high fluorescence quantum efficiency (PLQY), easy preparation, and elevated defect tolerance; therefore, they are widely used in optoelectronic devices, such as solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and lasers. However, their stability still constrains their development due to their intrinsic crystal structure, ionic exchange of surface ligands, and exceptional sensitivity to environmental factors, such as light, water, oxygen, and heat. Therefore, in this paper, we investigate the stability improvement of CsPbX3 QDs and apply fabricated high-efficiency, stable perovskite QDs to solar cells to improve the performance of the cells further. In this paper, we focus on CsPbBr3 QDs with intrinsic extreme stability and optimize CsPbBr3 QDs using strategies, such as Mn+ doping, ligand regulation, and polymer encapsulation, which can improve optical properties while ensuring their stability. The test results show that the above five methods can improve the strength and luminescence performance of QDs, with the best stability achieved when PMMA encapsulates QDs with a ratio of PMMA = 2:1 and PLQY increases from 60.2% to 90.1%.

The interacting effect of prolonged darkness and temperature on photophysiological characteristics of three Antarctic phytoplankton species.

Photophysiological characteristics of the Southern Ocean phytoplankton species Phaeocystis antarctica, Geminigera cryophila, and Chaetoceros simplex were assessed during 7 weeks of darkness and subsequent recovery after darkness at 4 and 7°C. Chlorophyll a fluorescence and maximum quantum efficiency of PSII decreased during long darkness in a species-specific manner, whereas chlorophyll a concentration remained mostly unchanged. Phaeocystis antarctica showed the strongest decline in photosynthetic fitness during darkness, which coincided with a reduced capacity to recover after darkness, suggesting a loss of functional photosystem II (PSII) reaction centers. The diatom C. simplex at 4°C showed the strongest capacity to resume photosynthesis and active growth during 7 weeks of darkness. In all species, the maintenance of photosynthetic fitness during darkness was clearly temperature dependent as shown by the stronger decline of photosynthetic fitness at 7°C compared to 4°C. Although we lack direct evidence for this, we suggest that temperature-enhanced respiration rates cause stronger depletion of energy reserves that subsequently interferes with the maintenance of photosynthetic fitness during long darkness. Therefore, the current low temperatures in the coastal Southern Ocean may aid the maintenance of photosynthetic fitness during the austral winter. Further experiments should examine to what extent the species-specific differences in dark survival are relevant for future temperature scenarios for the coastal Southern Ocean.