Laser-induced opto-acoustic calorimetry has been used to examine the thermo
-elastic properties of two polymer matrices doped with tinuvin-P and the ra
diation-less decay processes of rhodamine 6G (Rh6G) in them. The matrices a
ssayed were methyl methacrylate (MMA) homopolymers P(MMA), and methyl metha
crylate and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) copolymers P(MMA : HEMA). A
slight difference in the thermo-elastic properties of the polymers, namely
their adiabatic expansion coefficients, has been detected and found to corr
elate with the long-term stability of the laser material. This suggests a k
ey role of the heat-dissipation processes in the photostability of these po
lymeric materials. On the other hand, the fluorescence quantum yield of Rh6
G is shown to vary with the polymer-matrix composition in a way consistent
with its lasing efficiency. The Rh6G absorption and fluorescence quantum yi
eld also change dramatically upon increasing its concentration, which sugge
sts the co-existence of different Rh6G forms with different photophysical p
roperties.