A series of 1,1'-ferrocene-containing polyelectrolytes (3, 4) were prepared when 1,1'-bis(N,N-dimethylaminomethyl)ferrocene (1a) or 1,1'-bis{[1-(2-methyl)imidazol-1-yl]methyl}ferrocene (1b) was quaternized with 1,4-dibromobutane or alpha,alpha' -dibromo-p-xylene. The counterion was bromide or bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)-amide formed after metathesis with the lithium salt. Their chemical structures were determined by IR and NMR spectra. Molecular weights in the range of similar to5400 (4a)- similar to14,700 (4c) for number-average molecular weights (M-n) over narrow molecular weight distributions were determined for polymers 4 by gel permeation chromatography. Thermal properties of these materials were obtained by differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis that showed the polymers had thermal stabilities ranging between 172 and 330 degreesC. Liquid-crystalline behavior was investigated on a hot stage polarizing optical microscope. Polymers 3a, 4b, and 4d formed either a high-order or a low-order smectic phase above their melting or fusion temperatures, and exhibited smectic-to-isotropic transitions. The ranges of the liquid-crystalline phases for these materials were 22, 46, and >55 degreesC. Compounds 3b, 4a, and 4e are crystalline before melting or decomposing. All of the polymers exhibited absorption bands at similar to430 nm. (C) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.