Patent ID: 7481959

Claim:
A method for controlling haze in an article comprising a polytherimide, said method comprising: (a) providing a polytherimide comprising less than 25 parts per million alkali metal halide; and (b) fabricating an article from said polytherimide wherein said polyetherimide comprises repeat units having structure I wherein R 1 and R 2 are independently at each occurrence a halogen atom, a nitro group, a cyano group, a C 1 -C 12 aliphatic radical, C 3 -C 12 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 3 -C 12 aromatic radical; b and c are independently integers from 0 to 3; Q is a C 2 -C 22 aliphatic radical, a C 3 -C 22 cycloaliphatic radical or a C 3 -C 22 aromatic radical; X is a bond, an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, a sulfinyl group, a sulfonyl group, a selenium atom, a hexafluoroisopropylidene group, a carbonyl group or a linking group having structure II (c) wherein each G 1 is independently an C 3 -C 20 aromatic radical; E is selected from the group consisting of a C 3 -C 20 cycloaliphatic radical, a C 3 -C 20 aromatic radical, a C 1 -C 20 aliphatic radical, a sulfur-containing linkage, a phosphorus-containing linkage, an ether linkage, a carbonyl group, a tertiary nitrogen atom, and a silicon-containing linkage; R 3 is independently at each occurrence a halogen atom, a C 1 -C 20 aliphatic radical, C 3 -C 20 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 3 -C 20 aromatic radical; Y 1 is independently at each occurrence a halogen atom, a nitro group, a cyano group, a C 1 -C 20 aliphatic radical, C 3 -C 20 cycloaliphatic radical, or a C 3 -C 20 aromatic radical; each m is independently a number from zero through the number of positions on each respective G 1 available for substitution; p is a whole number from zero through the number of positions on E available for substitution; t is a number greater than or equal to one; s is either zero or one; and u is a whole number including zero, wherein at least one of t, s, and u is not equal to zero.