Relaxation process and phase transition of lanthanide liquid crystalline complexes by photoacoustic spectroscopy

Lanthanide-containing liquid crystals exhibiting smectic A phase close to room temperature were obtained. Photoacoustic (PA) spectroscopy was used to study the spectral properties and phase transitions of liquid crystalline metal complexes. It was found that PA intensity of the ligand had a relationship with the probability of nonradiative transitions, which increased in the order of Eu(tta)3L2 < La(tta)3L2< Tb(tta)3L2