Perylenediimide fluorophores linked to nitroxides represent new probes to monitor photo-oxidative degradation in organic polymer materials. The fluorescence emission from fluorophore-nitroxide probes provides a highly sensitive response correlated to the level of photo-induced radical-mediated damage in organic materials. Fluorescence emission from the probes provides a measure of exposure derived degradation and damage that enables new methods to monitor and predict the lifetime of protective coatings and structural organic materials.