A novel isophorone-based yellow emitting compound 2-(3-(2-(4-(9H-carbazol-9-yl)phenyl)vinyl)-5,5-dimethylcyclohex-2-enylid ene)malononitrile with donor-pi-acceptor structure for application in organic light-emitting diodes has been designed and synthesized. By researching the crystal structure of the compound, we found it had a big torsion angle between carbazole moiety and neighboring benzene groups, which was likely to prevent the concentration quenching in solid state. The carbazole group has powerful influence on optical properties of the compound in solution or solid state. As a non-doping emitting layer, the dye has bright orange-yellow emission (chromaticity coordinates: x=0.531, y = 0.462) and a brightness of 748 cd/m(2) at the voltage of 18.25V (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.