Metallized polymers and method

A method for metallizing polymer substrate with a metal, comprising the steps (i), (ii) and (iii) or (i), (ii), and (iv):

• (i) treating a polymer having at least one repeating unit selected from the group:
• ##STR3## wherein:
• R is selected from R.sup.3 and R.sup.1 NHCOR.sup.2,
• R.sup.1 and R.sup.3, individually, are selected from m-phenylene, p-phenylene, 3,3'-biphenylene, 3,4'-biphenylene, 4,4'-biphenylene and 4,440 -diphenylene ether,
• R.sup.2 is selected from R.sup.1 and --CH.sub.2 --.sub.x,
• Ar is a trisubstituted aromatic radical in which two of the three aryl bonds are adjacent to one another and attached to nitrogen atoms, and
• x is 1 to 10;
• with a nonaqueous solution of strong base selected from alkali metal hydroxides;
• R.sup.4 R.sup.5 N.sup.-, wherein R.sup.4 and R.sup.5 are each selected from the group consisting of C.sub.1 -C.sub.12 alkyl, C.sub.6 H.sub.5, C.sub.10 H.sub.7, C.sub.12 H.sub.9, C(.dbd.O)R.sup.6 wherein R.sup.6 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.12 alkyl;
• CH.sub.2 CN.sup.- ;
• R.sup.7. wherein R.sup.7 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.12 alkyl;
• H.sup.- ;
• R.sup.8 SOR.sup.9 wherein R.sup.8 and R.sup.9 are each C.sub.1 -C.sub.12 alkyl;
• R.sup.10 O.sup.- wherein R.sup.10 is C.sub.1 -C.sub.12 alkyl;
• and the polyanions of the polymers, or a combination thereof, alone or in the presence of alcohols, amines or nitrates;
• to generate anionic sites on the polymer surface,
• (ii) contacting the polymer with a metal cation to electrostatically bond the cation to the anionic sites, and
• (iii) reducing the meal cation to metal at the anionic sites on the polymer surface and forming metallic sites, or
• (iv) treating the metal cation with a compound that forms a semiconductor therewith and forming a semiconductor imbibed polymer.