This article describes our first experiments for preparing dye‐labeled latex particles by the emulsion copolymerization of a 4/1 (w/w) mixture of vinyl acetate‐butylacrylate (VAc‐BA). We discuss the synthesis of acrylate derivatives of phenanthrene, anthracene, and pyrene [9‐acryloxymethyl phenanthrene (7), 9‐acryloxymethyl‐10‐methyl anthracene (8), and 1‐acryloxymethyl pyrene (10)] and an allyl ether derivative of anthracene [9‐allyoxymethyl‐10‐methyl anthracene (9)]. Although the phenanthrene derivative 7 gave latex particles with high monomer conversion and good dye incorporation, the pyrene acrylate and both anthracene comonomers strongly inhibited the free‐radical reaction. To assist our search for a dye that would serve as a useful energy acceptor for phenanthrene and without suppressing VAc‐BA polymerization, we also examined batch emulsion polymerization in the presence of a variety of dye derivatives—substituted anthracenes, acridines, a coumarin, and two benzophenone derivatives. All of the anthracene derivatives, as well as acridine, strongly inhibited monomer polymerization. The coumarin dye 7‐hydroxy‐4‐methyl coumarin (22) that had only limited solubility allowed more than 90% monomer conversion. Most promising were 2‐hydroxy‐5‐methyl benzophenone (23) and 4‐N,N‐dimethylamino benzophenone (24) that at 1 mol % in the monomer mixture permitted virtually quantitative monomer conversion to latex. 4′‐Dimethylamino‐2‐acryloxy‐5‐methyl benzophenone (25) copolymerized well with the VAc‐BA mixture, yielding latex particles in high yield and with a narrow size distribution. These dyes appear to be useful acceptor dyes for energy‐transfer experiments with phenanthrene. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 1594–1607, 2002