Luminescence polarization of gold nanoclusters reveals directional self-assembly

Study of luminescence polarization of spherical nanoclusters arising purely through a self-assembly route has not been explored to date. Here we introduce a gold nanocluster system that explicitly shows luminescence polarization solely through a self-assembly pathway. The directionality involved in the self-assembly governs the luminescence polarization of the nanoclusters. The steady-state and time-resolved emission anisotropy measurements revealed the anisotropically ordered behavior of one-dimensionally self-assembled green emitting nanoclusters. On the contrary, the randomly self-assembled yellow emitting nanoclusters exhibited insignificant luminescence anisotropy.