[en] Poly(p-phenylene vinylene) has been synthesized using the sulphonium precursor route. Heat treatments have led to the formation of free-standing PPV films, which have been implanted at increasing ion fluences in the energy range 50-150 keV. Optical absorption and specular reflectance have been studied in the wavelength domain 200-3000 nm. The progressive shift of the absorption edge from the UV towards the visible has been attributed to the narrowing of the band gap, whereas the significant increase of the reflectance in the near infrared has been interpreted by the development of aromatic domains. A permanent increase by more than 13 orders of magnitude of the conductivity has been obtained in correlation with the progressive narrowing of the band gap. The comparison between implantations performed with doping ions and rare gases, producing comparable damage, shows significant differences at energies lower than 80 keV for heavy ions (iodine and xenon) and lower than 150 keV for light ions (sodium and neon), providing evidence for a doping effect, which is screened by the radiation damage at high implantation energies. The magnitude of this effect is, however, limited (one order of magnitude) in comparison to the conductivity enhancement (13 orders of magnitude) resulting from the radiation damage. The irreversible structural changes induced in ion implanted PPV films lead to the conclusion that the electronic doping occurs in a new material, which may be compared to (DLC) diamondlike films involving a significant sp₂ component. (orig.)