Poly(2-ethynyl-N-hexylpyridinium bromide) and poly(2-ethynyl-N-hexylpyridinium iodide) were synthesized by the direct polymerization of 2-ethynylpyridine and the corresponding n-hexyl halides without any additional initiator or catalyst under mild reaction condition. The polymerization proceeded well to give high yield of polymer. The polymer structures were characterized to have the conjugated polymer backbone system having N-hexylpyridyl moieties. The photoluminescence spectra of poly(2-ethynyl-N-hexylpyridinium bromide) and poly(2-ethynyl-N-hexylpyridiniun iodide) showed that the photoluminescence peaks are located at 603 and 611 nm corresponding to the photon energy of 2.06 and 2.03 eV, respectively. The electrochemical properties of the resulting polymers were also measured and discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.