Due to its high price and special properties, the use of PVK is limited to special areas. It is used in insulation technology, electrophotography (e.g. in copiers and laser printers), for the fabrication of polymer photonic crystals, for organic light-emitting diodes and photovoltaic devices. In addition, PVK is a well researched component in photorefractive polymers and therefore plays an important role in holography. Another application is the production of cooking-proof copolymers with styrene.