The change in electronic absorption and emission spectra of two fluorinated poly(1,3,4-oxadiazoleether)s in neat and binary solvent mixtures has been studied. The optical properties, absorption and photoluminescence of these polymers were investigated in solution and in solid state. The results were discussed as a function of solvent nature, excitation wavelength and local solvent composition, X-2. The Catalan solvent scale was used for describing the solvatochromic shifts of the absorption and emission bands. The following binary solvent mixtures were used: chloroform-N,N'-dimethylformamide (CHCl3-DMF), chloroform-dimethyl sulfoxide (CHCl3-DMSO), and dimethylformamide-dimethyl sulfoxide (DMF-DMSO) and the influence of their composition on the absorption and emission maxima has been analyzed. The preferential solvation parameters such as local mole fraction (X-2(L)), excess function (delta(s2)) and preferential salvation constant (K-PS) were determined. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.