A new luminescent copolymer (BPAEt(2)-BP; Scheme 1), with short alternating divinylbiphenyl units and O-diethylated bisphenol A (BPAEt(2)), was synthesized via the Wittig reaction. The polymer is fully soluble in common organic solvents and has a number-average molecular weight of 4600 g mol(-2) with a polydispersity index of 1.79. The structure of the polymer was confirmed by H-1 NMR, C-13 NMR, FTIR and Raman analysis. Thermal analysis of the polymer showed good stability up to 280 degrees C. Furthermore, polymer film absorbs at 360 nm and emits in the blue at 426 and 451 mn. The band-gap calculated from the UV-vis spectrum was about 2.80 eV. A single-layer device of the configuration indium tin oxide (ITO)/BPAEt(2)-BP/Al has a relatively low turn-on voltage of 3V. (c) 2005 Society of Chemical Industry.