Abstract
Three compounds with fluorescence quantum yields in the range of 10 − 5 to 10 − 4 and emission spectra covering the UV/Vis spectral range are suggested as new references for the determination of small fluorescence quantum yields. The compounds are thymidine (dT) in water, dibenzoylmethane (DBM) in ethanol, and malachite green chloride (MG) in water, representing the blue, green, and red regions of the spectrum, respectively. All compounds are easily handled, photostable, and commercially available. Furthermore, these compounds exhibit a mirror-image symmetry between their absorption and fluorescence spectra. This symmetry, along with closely aligned fluorescence excitation and absorption spectra, confirms that the observed emissions originate from the compounds themselves. The fluorescence quantum yields were determined via a relative approach as well as Strickler-Berg analysis in conjunction with time resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. Within the respective error margins, the two approaches yielded identical results.