Novel temperature sensitive glassware incorporating a luminescent coating has been investigated and developed. Two phosphor materials are applied to two test vessels, a Quartz tube and a Pyrex beaker. The Quartz tube and Pyrex beaker are test vessels for the liquid chemicals, which are to be exposed to microwave radiation as part of the process. The phosphors fluoresce on stimulation and the peak emission intensities are recorded to form a ratio. The resulting ratio decreases for increasing temperatures. Three experiments are presented which demonstrate the temperature monitoring, systems dependence on light source stability and sensor repeatability. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.