Matrix deuteration effects and spin-lattice relaxation in the lowest triplet of the palladium(II) complex Pd(2-thpy)2

Pd(2-thpy)2 isolated in protonated or deuterated frozen n-octane (Shpolʹskii matrices) exhibits highly resolved triplet emission and excitation spectra. One observes interesting differences for the two matrices: (i) The protonated matrix shows only one dominant guest site while the deuterated matrix exhibits two dominant sites. (ii) Low-energy satellites corresponding to lattice modes are distinctly shifted to lower energy due to deuteration of the matrix, (iii) At 1.3 K the triplet sublevels emit independently with lifetimes being nearly equal for both matrices. However, for 1.3 < T < 5 K one observes obvious differences in the decay behavior. This is explained by substantially smaller rates of spin-lattice relaxation in the deuterated host. Different mechanisms of spin-lattice relaxation are discussed.