Measurement of wavelength-dependent polarization character in the absorption anisotropies of ensembles of CdSe nanorods

Transient absorption (TA) and photoluminescence excitation (PLE) anisotropy measurements were used to investigate the polarization of band-edge and above-band-edge excitonic states in ensembles of CdSe nanocrystals with aspect ratios of 1:1, 3:1, and 10:1, dispersed in hexanes. The 1:1 nanocrystals (quantum dots) are isotropic absorbers and emitters. The 10:1 nanorods have a nonzero but featureless anisotropy spectrum above the band edge due to heterogeneity in the crystal structure and, therefore, electronic structure within single nanorods. The nanocrystals with an aspect ratio of 3:1, which are largely single crystals, have PLE and TA anisotropy spectra with features that correspond to those in the absorption spectrum. Direct measurement of the TA anisotropy spectrum of the nanorods and comparison with the PLE anisotropy spectrum reveal that the band-edge absorptive and emissive transitions contain both linear (z) and planar (xy) character. The degree of planar character at the band-edge states, modulated by classical local field effects arising from the dielectric contrast between the nanorod and the solvent, limits the degree of photoselection at this wavelength. The variation in the magnitude of the xy projection of the absorptive transitions within states above the band edge is responsible for the wavelength dependence of the absorption and emission anisotropies.