estimated using the Rehm-Weller equation. Electron transfer is distance dependent and decreases with increasing spacer length. Quenching by electron transfer between uncharged species leads to the formation of a radical ion pair. This is sometimes referred to as being the primary electron transfer. The possible electron transfer, which takes place after the PET, is referred to as the 'secondary electron transfer'. Chelation Enhancement Quenching (CHEQ) is the opposite effect seen for CHEF. In CHEQ, a reduction is observed in fluorescent emission of the chemosensor in comparison to that seen the originally for the 'free' sensor upon host–guest formation. As electron transfer is directional, such systems have also been described by the PET principle, being described as an enhancement in PET from the receptor to the fluorophore with enhanced degree of quenching. Such an effect has been demonstrated for the sensing of anions such as carboxylates and fluorides. A large number of examples of chemosensors have been developed by scientists in physical, life and environmental sciences. The advantages of fluorescence emission being 'switched on' from 'off' upon the recognition event enabling the chemosensors to be compared to 'beacons in the night'. As the process is reversible, the emission enhancement is concentration dependent, only becoming 'saturated' at high concentrations (fully bound receptor). Hence, a correlation can be made between luminescence (intensity, quantum yield and in some cases lifetime) and the analyte concentration. Through careful design, and evaluation of the nature of the communication pathway, similar sensors based on the use of 'on-off' switching, or 'on-off-on,' or 'off-on-off' switching have been designed. The incorporation of chemosensors onto surfaces, such as quantum dots, nanoparticles, or into polymers is also a fast-growing area of research. Other examples of chemosensors that work on the principle of switching fluorescent emission either on or off include, Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET), internal charge transfer (ICT), twisted internal charge transfer (TICT), metal-based emission (such as in lanthanide luminescence), and excimer and exciplex emission and aggregation-induced emission (AIE). Chemosensors were one of the first examples of molecules that could result in switching between 'on' or 'off' states through the use of external stimuli and as such can be classed as synthetic molecular machine, to which the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to in 2016 to Jean-Pierre Sauvage, Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa. The application of these same design principles used in chemosensing also paved the way for the