Photoluminescent molecules and nanomaterials have potential applications as active waveguides, but have often been limited by high optical losses and complex fabrication processes. We explored ligand-protected metal nanoclusters, which can have strong, stable and tunable emission, as waveguides. Two alloy ligand-protected metal nanoclusters, Pt 1 Ag 18 and Au x Ag 19-x (7 ≤ x ≤ 9), were synthesized and structurally determined. Crystals of both nanoclusters exhibit excellent optical waveguide performance, with optical-loss coefficients of 5.26 × 10 −3 and 7.77 × 10 −3 decibels per micrometer, dB μm −1 , which are lower than those demonstrated by most inorganic, organic, and hybrid materials. The crystal packing and molecular orientation of the Pt 1 Ag 18 compound led to an extremely high polarization ratio of 0.91. Aggregation enhanced the quantum yields of Pt 1 Ag 18 and Au x Ag 19-x nanoclusters by 115- and 1.5-fold, respectively. This photonic cluster with low loss and high polarization provides a generalizable and versatile platform for active waveguides and polarizable materials.

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