4-phenylenevinylene)s (trimers, tetramers and a nonamer), which contain 1-3 (E)-stilbene crowns. A classical reaction route led first to stilbene crown subunits. Wittig-Horner reactions of diphosphonates with mono- or dialdehydes or of dialdehydes with mono- or diphosphonates yielded then the desired all-trans configured OPVs, which were designed for the complexation of metal cations.