Patent ID: 7041780

Claim:
A method of preparing a polymeric material, comprising: reacting a monohydroxy aromatic compound in the presence of a catalyst, oxygen, and a solvent to form a reaction mixture, wherein the monohydroxy aromatic compound, the solvent, or a combination of the foregoing is optionally purified prior to reacting; adding water and a chelating agent to the reaction mixture to form an aqueous phase and an organic phase, and separating the aqueous phase from the organic phase, wherein the organic phase comprises poly(arylene ether); optionally filtering the organic phase through a first filtration system to remove particulate impurities; isolating poly(arylene ether) from the organic phase; combining the poly(arylene ether) with a poly(alkenyl aromatic) to form a mixture, wherein the mixture is optionally purified; optionally purifying the poly(alkenyl aromatic) prior to the combining; obtaining a polymeric material from the mixture, wherein the polymeric material comprises poly(arylene ether) and poly(alkenyl aromatic); and wherein the polymeric material is substantially free of visible particulate impurities.