A series of conducting copolymers were synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization of imidazole (Imi) and pyridine (Py) in acetonitrile medium at ambient temperature. The yield, solubility, and conductivity of the copolymers were measured by changing the Imi/Py molar ratio from 0/100 to 100/0. The as-prepared Imi/Py conducting copolymers were characterized by UV-Visible, FTIR, H-1-NMR, DSC, TGA, and XRD. The results suggest that the resulting copolymers were more easily soluble in most of the organic solvents than in polyimidazole. The polymer obtained is a real copolymer containing imidazole and pyridine units, but the Imi content calculated on the basis of the proton NMR spectra is lower than feed Imi content. The thermostability of the Imi/Py copolymer increases with increasing Imi unit content. The copolymers show comparatively higher conductivity and higher thermal stability than the homopolymer polypyridine and are lower than those of polyimidazole. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012