On low temperature fluorescence of perylene crystals

At low temperatures, the broad excimer fluorescence band of α-perylene crystals is replaced by a weakly structured emission at higher energy. This emission originates from a new crystal state (Y-state) which is populated independently of the high temperature excimer (E-state). Due to the temperature dependence of its first order decay rate and due to the thermally activated formation of the E-state, the Y-emission grows rapidly at temperatures below 90 K. The Y-emission differs from the fluorescence of the monomeric β-perylene at 5.5 K by its Stokes shift of 1300 cm^?1, the lack of vibronic structure, the long first order decay time of 40 ns and the absence of bimolecular annihilation indicating a localized state. The Y-state is attributed to a less relaxed pair state formed upon contraction of the dimeric crystal lattice.