| Persistent luminescence or long afterglow or long lasting phosphorescence has
attracted a lot of attention because of its varied applications in emergency or safety
sign boards, toys and more recently for in vivo imaging of small animals. An important
aspect for understanding the mechanism of persistent luminescence is understanding
the nature and energetics of defects. While techniques like thermally stimulated
luminescence, electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy have been used in
the past, X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (XAFS) has recently emerged
as another tool to explore structural distortions that may act as electron and hole
traps. The present article reviews recent XAFS studies on persistent luminescence
materials with potential applications in bio-imaging.
[Keywords: Persistent luminescence, XAFS, Biomarkers, Local structure] |
