A novel 1,4-di(pyren-1-yl)benzene derivative has been prepared using the Suzuki-Miyaura reaction, and its photophysical properties were examined to investigate their dependence on solvent and temperature, and their variation between the solution and the solid state. Compared to the unsubstituted analogue, the introduction of tert-butyl substitutents on the pyrenyl results in enhanced photoluminescent efficiency but only very small shifts in the absorption and emission maxima in the solid state compared to solution, which can probably be attributed to weaker intermolecular interactions and less excimer formation. The quantum yield of this compound in the solid state is impressive (0.82).

Key words: fluorescence, solid state emission, pyrene