A new interesting class of conducting polymer and copolymers based on 4-teriary butyl-cyclohexanone in the main chain has been synthesized by solution polycodensation of terephthalaldehyde with 4-teriary butyl-cyclohexanone and/or cycloalkanone derivatives. The model compound I was synthesized from the 4-teriary butyl-cyclohexanone with benzaldehyde, and its structure was confirmed by elemental and spectral analyses. The resulting polymer and copolymers were characterized by elemental and spectral analyses including Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FT-IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (H-1-NMR), beside solubility and viscometry measurements. The thermal properties of those polymer and copolymers were evaluated by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) measurements and correlated to their structural units. X-ray analysis showed that it has some degree of crystallinity in the region 2 theta = 5-60 degrees. The UVvisible spectra of some selected polymers were measured in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) solution and showed absorption bands in the range 253-398 nm, due to n-pi* and pi-pi* transition. The morphological properties of selected examples were tested by scanning electron microscope (SEM). Moreover, the electrical conductivities and the doping with iodine were tested. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 123: 3390-3401, 2012