XAFS as a tool for study of persistent luminescence biomarkers

Abstract

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.