Those who recognize that our modern life style is dependent, to a large extent, on the use of organic polymers as thermal and elec­ trical insulators, may be surprised to learn that specific plastics may also be used as conductors of electricity. In addition to demon­ strating the versatility of polymers, this use as conductors will lead to developments which were not possible with other available materials of construction. This is a new field which is growing rapidly because of intensive research and developmental efforts by many different industrial, governmental and university investigators. Many of these researchers reported advances in this art at a symposium on conductive polymers sponsored by the American Chemical Society's Division of Organic Coatings and Plastics Chemistry held at the Second Chemical Congress of the North American Continent at Las Vegas, in August 1980. The proceedings of this timely symposium are presented in this book. The editor wishes to take this opportunity to express his grati­ tude to the authors who contributed to this book and to the ACS Organic Coatings and Plastics Division for sponsoring this effort. Raymond B. Seymour Department of Polymer Science University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS 39401 v CONTENTS 1 New Horizons in Conductive Polymers Raymond B. Seymour Synthesis and Characterization of Conductive 7 Palladium Containing Polyimide Films ¿ T.L. Wohlford. J. Schaff. L.T. Taylor.