Photogeneration of charge carriers in a methyl-substituted ladder-poly(para-phenylene) (LPPP) has been investigated by xerographic experiments. The quantum efficiency of charge carrier generation was calculated by evaluating the photoinduced discharge curves (PIDCs) and found to be independent of both excitation wavelength and temperature. The results can be described by a modified Braun theory with a simple exponential distribution of radii of thermalized electrons. LPPP shows a very high primary quantum efficiency of 80%, a low residual potential, and a small dark decay. Thus, LPPP represents a promising material to build single component single-layer photoreceptors. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-9606(00)70508-3].