A new carbazole-derived, triphenylamine (TPA)-containing aromatic dicarboxylic acid monomer, 4,4'-dicarboxy-4 ''-(3,6-di-tert-butylcarbazol-9-yl)TPA, was synthesized, and it led to a series of electroactive aromatic polyamides with main-chain TPA and pendent 3,6-bis(tert-butyl)carbazole units by reacting it with various aromatic diamines via the phosphorylation polyamidation technique. The polyamides were amorphous with good solubility in many organic solvents and could be solution-cast into flexible and strong films. They showed high glass-transition temperatures (282-335 degrees C) and high thermal stability (10% weight loss temperatures >480 degrees C). The electroactive polymer films had well-defined and reversible redox couples with good cycle stability in acetonitrile solutions. The polymer films also exhibited fluorescent and multielectrochromic behaviors. The anodically electrochromic polyamide films had moderate coloration efficiency (similar to 100 cm(2)/C) and high optical contrast ratio of transmittance change (Delta%T) up to 47% at 813 nm and 48% at 414 nm for the green coloring. After hundreds of cyclic switches, the polymer films still retained good redox and electrochromic activity. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 48: 4775-4789, 2010