We report the synthesis of functionalized poly(p-phenylenevinylenes), in which a and ß positions are substituted with oxygen-containing groups. These functionalized poly(p-phenylenevinylenes) were synthesized by the reaction of polybenzoin, synthesized by the benzoin-type reaction of terephthalaldehyde, with Schlosser's base, KOf-Bu/n-BuLi, to generate a polydianion, which on further reaction with acetyl chloride and dimethyl sulfate yields the corresponding poly(l,4-phenylenevinylene ,ß-diol diacetate) and poly(1,4-phenylene-a,/3-dimethoxyvinylene), respectively. These materials were characterized by IR, NMR, and elemental analysis. The conductivity was measured in the pristine state (-10-10 S/cm) as well as after doping with iodine (~10~6 S/cm).Poly(1,4-phenylenevinylene) (PPV) forms the basis of an important class of nondegenerate, conducting polymers in which conjugation is extended by the aromatic rings included directly in the chain.1 In this class of polymers two structures arising due to resonance-benzenoid and quinonoid-do not have the same energy. The quinonoid structure has higher energy than the benzenoid structure. Other examples of such nondegenerate systems are polyphenylene, polypyrrole, and polythiophene.1