A monomer containing bent side chains with oxadiazole unit was synthesized. And it was copolymerized with polyfluorene at different ratios. The photophysical and electrochemical properties of the copolymers were characterized. The results show that the introduction of the oxidiazole-containing side chains into the polymer reduces the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital level. And the steric hindrance of the side groups can effectively suppress the aggregation of the polymer backbones. Electroluminescent devices were fabricated with a configuration of indium tin oxide (ITO)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (PEDOT):PSS/Sample/Ca/Al. All of the devices emit blue light. The device of the copolymer PFOXD50 shows the best performance with the maximum luminance of 1033 cd/m2 and the maximum current efficiency of 0.29 cd/A. Then a cyclometalated iridium complex monomer (ppy)2Ir(BrPhPyBr) was copolymerized with PFOXD50 at different ratios. The devices with the same configuration emit orange light. The efficiency generally increases with the increasing Ir content. Among them, the device of the copolymer PFOXDIr7 shows the best performance with the maximum luminance of 846 cd/m2 and the maximum current efficiency of 0.61 cd/A. (c) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2012