Introduction

Abstract

The usefulness of conventional polymers is largely due to their special properties such as low specific weight, mechanical strength, plastic deformability and their unusually high resistivity. These features have allowed plastic materials to intrude into most sectors of our civilization, be it in the form of low cost and simple utilities or in highly sophisticated technologies like in aircraft construction or modern electronic circuits. Accordingly synthetic chemists have directed much effort towards creating new materials with improved properties for these particular applications. Physicists meanwhile, were confronted with a series of problems related to the special features of plastics, and their task was to understand the rheological, mechanical and resistive behaviour. However, it has been obvious ever since polymers became important in technology that their usefulness could be significantly enhanced if their conductivity could be raised, possibly to match that of metals. Metals could then be replaced in many cases by light and easily processible materials.