The present invention relates to a method for producing a vinyl polymer
retaining the ability for atom transfer radical polymerization, a method
for reliably producing a vinyl polymer having terminal functional groups,
a vinyl polymer having functional groups prepared by these methods, and a
curable composition comprising the polymer. A vinyl polymer having
terminal functional groups can be reliably produced through the steps of
preparing a vinyl polymer by atom transfer radical polymerization of a
vinyl monomer in a polymerization solvent in the presence of a
polymerization initiator and a transition metal complex functioning as a
polymerization catalyst, removing the polymerization solvent and the
vinyl monomer while the ability for atom transfer radical polymerization
is maintained, and supplying a functional-group-introducing agent having
a low polymerizability to introduce a functional group to a polymer
terminus. During the step of supplying the functional-group-introducing
agent, a functional-group-introducing solvent having a dielectric
constant higher than that of the functional-group-introducing agent may
be supplied to effectively introduce a functional group to a terminus of
the vinyl polymer. Furthermore, according to the present invention, the
polymerization solvent and the functional-group-introducing agent can be
recovered and recycled.