A new ionic polyacetylene was prepared by the activation polymerization of 2-ethynylpyridine with 2-(bromomethyl)-5-nitrofuran in high yield without any additional initiator or catalyst. This polymerization proceeded well in a homogeneous manner to give a high yield of the polymer (92%). The activated acetylenic triple bond of N-(5-nitro-2-furanmethylene)-2-ethynylpyridinium bromide, formed in the first quaternerization process, was found to be susceptible to linear polymerization. This polymer was completely soluble in such polar organic solvents as dimethylformamide, dimethyl sulfoxide, and N,N-dimethylacetamide. The inherent viscosities of the resulting polymers were in the range 0.12-0.19 dL/g, and X-ray diffraction analysis data indicated that this polymer was mostly amorphous. The polymer structure was characterized by various instrumental methods to have a polyacetylene backbone structure with the designed substituent. The photoluminescence peak was observed at 593 nm; this corresponded to a photon energy of 2.09 eV. The polymer exhibited irreversible electrochemical behaviors between the doping and undoping peaks. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 122: 987-992, 2011