A cyclophane-based poly(p-phenyleneethynylene) was prepd. and showed to undergo unusual solid-state aggregation to give highly emissive materials. This aggregation was demonstrated to be controllable via the method of film prepn. (Langmuir vs. spin-casting) with facile de-aggregation possible by the introduction of specific analytes or annealing. The subsequent decrease in the fluorescence intensities of spin-cast films after chem.-thermal modifications (due to chain alignment) has potential applications in sensor technologies. [on SciFinder(R)]