(E)-3,3′,4,4′,7,7′,8,8′-Octa­methyl-2H,2′H-1,1′-bi(cyclo­penta­[fg]acenaphthyl­enyl­idene)-2,2′,5,5′,6,6′-hexa­one dichloro­methane monosolvate

The title compound, C(36)H(24)O(6)·CH(2)Cl(2), is a dimer of two essentially planar (r.m.s., deviations of fitted plane of 14 pyracene C atoms = 0.0539 and 0.0543 Å) tetra-cyclic pyracene frameworks (each with four methyl groups and three carbonyl groups on the peripheral carbon atoms) twisted along a central C=C bond with an angle of 50.78 (3)° at 90 K. There are notably long Csp(2)-Csp(2) bonds associated with the carbonyl groups, the longest being 1.601 (3) Å between two carbonyl C atoms. There are also intermolecular carbonyl⋯carbonyl interactions of both parallel and antiparallel types, with C⋯O distances in the range 3.041 (3) to 3.431 (2) Å. This compound is of inter-est with respect to the synthesis of fullerene fragments, such as corannulene and semibuckminsterfullerene derivatives (or 'buckybowls'), and is a side product of the previously reported oxidation reaction. Structural details, such as planarity analysis of fused rings, out-of-plane deviation of substituents, inter-molecular inter-actions, and longer than typical bond lengths, will be discussed as well as comparisons to structurally related compounds.