Abstract: | We studied the facile synthesis of ortho‐phenylene‐based conjugated polymers through transformation of cross‐conjugated polymers having [2]dendralene moiety, poly(2,3‐diaryl[2]dendralene)s ( P1 s), and demonstrated the sequential synthesis of (Z)‐alkene‐ and ortho‐arylene‐containing conjugated polymers from P1 s. P1 s were transformed into cyclohexa‐1,4‐diene‐containing conjugated polymers ( P2 s) through a Diels–Alder reaction. Aromatization of the cyclohexa‐1,4‐diene skeleton was achieved by using 2,3‐dichloro‐5,6‐dicyano‐1,4‐benzoquinone to give the ortho‐phenylene‐containing conjugated polymers ( P3 s). The ultraviolet–visible and fluorescence spectra of the cross‐conjugated polymers P1 s, and the conjugated polymers P2 s and P3 s indicated that the π–π interactions between the arylene moieties in P2 s were stronger than those in P1 s and P3 s. The synthetic method for P2 s and P3 s offers an effective synthesis of various types of (Z)‐alkene‐ and ortho‐arylene‐containing conjugated polymers. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019 , 57, 827–832 |