Cholesterol-aided construction of distinct self-organized materials from a luminescent gold(I)–isocyanide complex exhibiting mechanochromic luminescence

A cholesterol-functionalized gold(I)–isocyanide complex exhibiting mechanochromic luminescence properties was self-organized into distinct microscopic structures with different photoluminescence properties through vapor-diffusion of a poor solvent into its dichloromethane solution. The structure–optical property relationship of these microstructures could be related to the mechanically induced phase transition.