Vinylidene fluoride polymer and method of making same

This invention provides PVDF having such crystallization properties as to produce small spherulite sizes without sacrifices to properties, processability, purity, etc., and a suspension polymerization method to obtain the same. The PVDF obtained by this invention comprises the monomer unit content of 99.5-96 wt. % of vinylidene fluoride, and the monomer unit content of 0.5-4 wt. % of comonomers selected from hexafluoropropylene and/or tetrafluoroethylene, and has a logarithmic viscosity of 0.9-1.3 dl/g, and a molecular-weight distribution, as expressed in the ratio (Mw/Mn) of weight-average molecular weight and number-average molecular weight, of 2.2-2.8. In order to manufacture the PVDF of this invention, a mixture of vinylidene fluoride monomers containing 1-5 wt. % of monomers selected from hexafluoropropylene and/or tetrafluoroethylene is suspension-polymerized in an aqueous medium, using an oil-soluble initiator so that the logarithmic viscosity [ eta 1] is kept at 1.3-1.9 dl/g until the polymerization conversion rate of vinylidene fluoride monomers becomes 10-50%, and the polymerization is continued by adding a chain transfer agent at that polymerization conversion rate so that the logarithmic viscosity [ eta 2] of the eventually obtained polymers becomes 0.3-0.7 dl/g lower than [ eta 1], and yet remains in the range of 0.9-1.3 dl/g.