A pseudopolyrotaxane consisting in PPV threaded in multiple cucurbiturils

p-Phenylenedimethylene-1,1′-bis(tetrahydrothiophen-1-ium) dibromide (PBTHBr2), one of the possible monomers of poly(p-phenylenevinylene) (PPV), forms a very stable complex with cucurbiturils (CBs) of the appropriate internal diameter as assessed by 1H NMR. Using PBTH2+@CB[7] as starting material, the corresponding PPV@CB[7], a pseudopolyrotaxane in which phenylenevinylene units are inserted in CB[7]s, was obtained by condensation with NaOH and thermal treatment at 200 °C. Considering that many applications of PPV derive from luminescence, observation of a strong emission for PPV@CB[7] with a lifetime somewhat shorter than the pure polymer makes also this material useful for applications in nanotechnology.