The color development due to the complex formation of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) with iodine increased with increasing syndiotacticity of PVA. Isotactic PVA showed no color development. The color development of syndiotacticity-rich PVA film decreased with increasing annealing temperature for films before complexization, whereas that of atactic (commercial) PVA increased with it. Lower temperatures, the elongation of complex film, and the presence of boric acid enhanced the absorbance at 600 nm due to I5-. The complexes are assumed to be made by incorporation of polyiodines into aggregates of syndiotactic sequences in PVA. The polarizability and electric conductivity of complex films are investigated. (C) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.