Patent ID: 7105106

Claim:
A process for the manufacture of a liquid crystalline polymer comprising: (a) contacting, in the absence of added solvent, a partially aromatic polyester, having repeat units of the formula and —O—R 2 —O— (II), with one or more compounds of the formula HO—R 3 —CO 2 H (III), one or more compounds of the formula HO—R 4 —OH (IV), and a carboxylic acid anhydride, under conditions to form esters of (III) and (IV) by reaction with said carboxylic add anhydride, and (b) heating the mixture resulting from (a) at a temperature and for a sufficient amount of time to form a liquid crystalline polymer wherein each R 1 is independently hydrocarbylene or substituted hydrocarbylene; each R 2 is independently alkylene or substituted alkylene; each R 3 is independently arylene or substituted arylene; and each R 4 is independently arylene or substituted arylene; and provided that (IV) is present in an amount, based on the amount of (II) present in said partially aromatic polyester, to achieve a total diol stoichiometric excess of 0.5 to 15 mole percent.