In situ preparation of highly fluorescent pyrene-dyes from non-luminous precursors upon photoirradiation.

The non-luminous precursor, 2-(1-pyrenyl)-9,10-dihydro-9,10-ethanoanthracene-11,12-dione, was photochemically converted to highly-fluorescent 2-(1-pyrenyl)anthracene quantitatively in solution and in the PMMA film and the fluorescence quantum yield of the acene in benzonitrile was as high as 0.99.