Difference between phosphorescence and fluorescence

What is Fluorescence?

Electrons in an atom or a molecule can absorb the energy in the electromagnetic radiation and
thereby excite to an upper energy state. This upper energy state is unstable; therefore, electron
likes to come back to the ground state. When coming back, it emits the absorbed wavelength. In
this relaxation process, they emit excess energy as photons. This relaxation process is known as
fluorescence. Fluorescence takes place much more rapidly. Generally, it completes in about 10-5 s
or less time from the time of excitation. In atomic fluorescence, gaseous atoms fluoresce when
they are exposed to radiation with a wavelength that exactly matches one of the absorption lines
of the element. For example, gaseous sodium atoms absorb and excite by absorbing 589 nm
radiations. Relaxation takes place after this by reemission of fluorescent radiation of the identical
wavelength. Because of this, we can use fluorescence to identify different elements. When
excitation and reemission wavelengths are the same, the resulting emission is called resonance
fluorescence. Other than fluorescence, there are other mechanisms by which an excited atom or
molecule can give up its excess energy and relax to its ground state. Nonradiative relaxation and
fluorescence emissions are two such important mechanisms. Because of many mechanisms, the
lifetime of an excited state is brief. The relative number of molecules that fluoresce is small
because fluorescence requires structural features that slow the rate of the nonradiative relaxation
and enhance the rate of fluorescence. In most molecules, these features are not there; therefore,
they undergo nonradiative relaxation, and fluorescence does not occur. Molecular fluorescence
bands are made up of a large number of closely spaced lines; therefore, usually it is hard to
resolve.

What is Phosphorescence?

When molecules absorb light and go to the excited state they have two options. They can either
release energy and come back to the ground state immediately or undergo other non-radiative
processes. If the excited molecule undergoes a non radiative process, it emits some energy and
come to a triplet state where the energy is somewhat lesser than the energy of the exited state,
but it is higher than the ground state energy. Molecules can stay a bit longer in this less energy
triplet state. This state is known as the metastable state. Then metastable state (triplet state) can
slowly decay by emitting photons, and come back to the ground state (singlet state). When this
happens it is known as phosphorescence.

What is the difference between

Fluorescence and Phosphorescence?

When light is supplied to a sample of

molecules, we immediately see the fluorescence.
Fluorescence stops as soon as we take away the
light source. But phosphorescence tends to stay
little longer even after the irradiating light source
is removed.

Fluorescence takes place when excited energy

is released, and the molecule comes back to the
ground state from the singlet-excited stage.
Phosphorescence takes place when a molecule is
coming back to the ground state form the triplet
excited state (metastable state).

The energy released in the fluorescence

process is higher than that in the
phosphorescence.
 In fluorescence, the absorbed amount of
energy is released back but, in phosphorescence,
released energy is lower than what is absorbed.