lumiphore

A lumiphore is a substance or a region within a substance that is capable of emitting light through luminescence. Luminescence is a broad term for the emission of light by a substance not resulting from heat. This is in contrast to incandescence, which is light produced by high temperatures. Lumiphores are therefore key components in phenomena like fluorescence, phosphorescence, and chemiluminescence.

In fluorescent materials, lumiphores absorb energy, typically from photons, and re-emit this energy as light almost instantaneously. The emitted light usually has a longer wavelength, and therefore lower energy, than the absorbed light. Phosphorescent materials also contain lumiphores that absorb energy, but they release it much more slowly, leading to a glow that can persist for a significant time after the excitation source is removed.

Chemiluminescence involves lumiphores that emit light as a result of a chemical reaction. The energy released by the reaction is used to excite the lumiphore, which then emits light. Bioluminescence, the light produced by living organisms, is a type of chemiluminescence where the chemical reactions are catalyzed by enzymes.

The specific chemical structure of a molecule determines its luminescent properties, including the wavelengths of light it can absorb and emit. These properties make lumiphores essential in a wide range of applications, including lighting, display technologies, analytical chemistry, and biological imaging.