The physical and electronic characteristics of the low band-gap polymers, poly( 4-dicyanomethylene-4 H-cyclopenta( 1,2-b;3 ,4-b ' ]dithiophene) (PCDM) and poly(7-benzo[ 1,3 ]dithiol-2-ylidine-7H-3,4-dithia-cyclopenta[ a ]pentalene) (PBDT), have been examined. The polymers were studied using microscopic and spectroscopic methods to determine the chemical and morphological properties of the polymer films. Micrographs of the polymer surfaces revealed PCDM to consist of a relatively smooth surface covered by large aggregations. PBDT had a much rougher surface with a large surface area, possibly suitable for the production of a polymeric battery. Polymer band-gaps were estimated using UV-vis spectra to be 1.38 eV and 1.29 eV respectively for PCDM and PBDT. XPS measurements allied with the PCDM and PBDT band-gaps have been used to produce preliminary band diagrams for ITO/polymer/ Al diodes. Diodes of PCDM and PBDT were fabricated to allow study of the electrical behaviour of the polymers using DC current-voltage (I-V) measurements and AC impedance spectroscopy. Equivalent RC circuits of ITO/PCDM/Al diodes have been used to model the presence of 2 dispersions in the admittance plots and to explain the effects of increasing temperature, polymer film thickness and contact material. The DC electrical measurements for PCDM reveal almost symmetrical current-voltage characteristics. A hysteresis effect dependent on the direction of the voltage sweep observed in the DC characteristics has a potential application in the production of a polymeric "memory element". For sweep voltages starting above approximately ±4 V, "high" and "low" conductance states occur when sweeping from negative to positive and positive to negative bias respectively. The "low" state is stable for many months whereas the "high" state decays exponentially with time constants of approximately 2000 s. Characteristic values for PCDM films have been estimated using the experimental results. An investigation of the production of command surfaces using a series of ethylene homopolymers, prepared by electropolymerisation under anodic and cathodic conditions, has also been undertaken.