Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Novel Techniques for Observing Structural Dynamics of Photoresponsive Liquid Crystals
Published on: May 29, 2018
Spin-lattice relaxation and rotational motion of aromatic triplet-state molecules in supercooled alkane solvents
Albert A Ruth1, Bernhard Nickel
1Department of Physics, National University of Ireland, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland. a.ruth@ucc.ie
Abstract:
The phosphorescence of phenazine (PZ) and quinoxaline (QX) was investigated after pulsed laser excitation in the glass-transition range of several alkane solvents. Three relaxation processes of PZ and QX in the metastable triplet state, T1, were studied as a function of temperature: (1) the decay of the selective population of the strongly phosphorescent triplet substate T1x due to spin-lattice relaxation (SLR), (2) the time-dependent red shift of the phosphorescence spectrum due to the solvation of triplet-state molecules, and (3) the decay of the phosphorescence polarization due to orientational relaxation (OR). Various aspects and connections of the mechanisms governing the three relaxation phenomena are discussed. The relaxation dynamics were characterized at temperatures above the glass-transition temperature of the respective solvent, where the fundamental processes involved are strongly dependent upon the solvent viscosities. For the systems treated here, OR and solvation were satisfactorily described by a Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann temperature behavior. SLR also depends on properties of the alkane solvent above the glass transition. Upon cooling, SLR becomes independent of the specific solvent properties and is based on mechanisms that are typical for amorphous glasses or solids. (This particular aspect will be the subject of a subsequent publication, part 2).
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Temporal Resolution
Atomic Nuclei: Types of Nuclear Relaxation
In spin–lattice or longitudinal relaxation, the excited spins exchange energy with the surrounding lattice as they return to the lower energy level. Among several mechanisms that contribute to spin–lattice relaxation, magnetic dipolar interactions are significant. Here, the excited nucleus transfers energy to a nearby...
UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Molecular Electronic Transitions
¹H NMR of Conformationally Flexible Molecules: Variable-Temperature NMR
IR Spectroscopy: Molecular Vibration Overview
Stretching vibrations are vibrational motions that occur along the bond line, changing the bond length or distance between two bonded atoms. They are further distinguished as symmetric or asymmetric. In symmetric stretching, the...
Spin–Spin Coupling Constant: Overview
Qualitatively, any spin plus-half nucleus polarizes the spins of its electrons to the minus-half state. Consequently, the paired electron in the hydrogen–carbon bond must have a...

