Polyvinylidene Chloride

polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC), a synthetic resin produced by the polymerization of vinylidene chloride. It is used principally in clear, flexible, and impermeable plastic food wrap.

Vinylidene chloride (CH₂=CCl₂), a clear, colourless, toxic liquid, is obtained from trichloroethane (CH₂=CHCl₃) through the dehydrochlorination (removal of hydrogen chloride [HCl]) of that compound by alkali treatment. For processing into PVDC, the liquid is suspended in water as fine droplets or treated with soaplike surfactants and dispersed in water as an emulsion of small particles. Under the action of free-radical initiators, the vinylidene-chloride monomers (small, single-unit molecules) are linked together to form large, multiple-unit polymers. The polymer is obtained from the water phase as dry powder or beads, which can be melted for extrusion into plastic film.

The outstanding property of PVDC is its low permeability to water vapour and gases—making it ideal for food packaging. Copolymers of vinylidene chloride and other monomers are also marketed. The best known is Saran, a copolymer consisting of about 87 percent vinylidene chloride and 13 percent vinyl chloride. Saran was introduced by the Dow Chemical Company in 1939 and is still a widely used transparent food wrap.