Two novel light-emitting block copolymers, poly[ 1,4,7,10-tetraoxadecane-1,10-diyl-1,4-naphthalene-1,2-ethenediyl-1,4-phenylene-1,2-ethenediyl-1,4-naphthalene] (TEO-DNVB) and poly[1,4,7,10-tetraoxadecane-1,10-diyl-1,4-naphthalene-1,2-ethenediyl(2,5-dimethoxy-1,4-phenylene)-1,2-ethenediyl-1,4-naphthalene] (TEO-MDNVB), were synthesized by using the Wittig reaction. The block copolymers are composed of the fluorescent segments, l,4-di[2-(l-naphthyl) vinyl] benzene (DNVB) or 2,5-dimethyloxy-1,4-di[2-(1-naphthyl) vinyl] benzene (MDNVB) and the flexible segments, tri(ethylene oxide) (TEO). The copolymers were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), H-1-nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1-NMR), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis), gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and cyclic voltammograms (CV). Thermal properties were investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) under nitrogen atmosphere. Cyclic voltammetric measurement reveals a reversible p-doping process. Efficient blue-green polymer light-emitting diodes (PLEDs) and polymer light-emitting electrochemical cells (PLECs) were successfully fabricated. The synthesis, characterization and the electroluminescent properties of the copolymers are reported in this paper. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.