nietstralingsgebonden

Nietstralingsgebonden, a Dutch term, translates to "non-radiative" in English. It is primarily used in the context of physics and chemistry to describe processes or phenomena that do not involve the emission or absorption of electromagnetic radiation, such as light or heat.

In photochemistry, for example, a non-radiative decay process refers to the deactivation of an excited molecule that occurs without emitting a photon. Instead, the excess energy is dissipated internally, often through vibrational relaxation or internal conversion, leading to a lower energy state of the molecule. This contrasts with radiative processes, where the energy is released as light.

The concept of non-radiative processes is also relevant in materials science and solid-state physics. For instance, in semiconductors, non-radiative recombination occurs when an electron and a hole recombine without emitting light, which is a significant factor in the efficiency of light-emitting devices. Similarly, in quantum dots, non-radiative pathways can compete with radiative emission, reducing the quantum yield of luminescence. Understanding these non-radiative pathways is crucial for optimizing the performance of various optoelectronic and photonic devices. The term emphasizes the absence of a specific mechanism of energy transfer, focusing on alternative routes for energy dissipation or transition between electronic states.