The covalent modification of fullerene-C-60 (C-60) with poly(4-diphenylaminostyrene) (PDAS) was examined to explore the possibility of preparing new materials for effective photovoltaic cells. The high nucleophilicity and small steric hindrance of the PDAS carbanion is a very important factor in the addition of poly(4-diphenylaminostyryl)lithium (PDASLi) to C-60. C-60 end-capped PDAS (C-60-PDAS), consisting of one PDAS molecule bonded to one C-60 molecule at the polymer chain-end, was successfully prepared from the PDASLi/N,N,N',N'-tetramethylethylenediamine system and C-60. UV/vis and photoluminescence spectra suggest that C-60-PDAS has considerable potential for the preparation of effective photovoltaic cells. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.