Patent ID: 7217780

Claim:
A method of producing a polyether ketone by a desalting polycondensation, which comprises: (a) reacting an aromatic diol with a halogenated benzophenone in the presence of an organic solvent and an alkali metal compound as a catalyst at a temperature of 150° to 250° C., wherein the molar ratio of aromatic diol to halogenated benzophenone is in the range of 0.8–1.2:1.2–0.8; (b) maintaining the polycondensation in the presence of water, the amount of water being in the range of about 0.01 to 10 moles per mole of aromatic diol; and (c) recovering the polyether ketone which deposits from the reaction medium, said polyether ketone having a primary particle size of 50 μm or less, wherein the reduced viscosity (ηinh) is from 0.5 to 2.0 dl/g as measured by a Ubbellohde viscometer at 35°C. in a solution prepared by dissolving 0.5 g of polyether ketone in 100 ml of a mixed solvent of 90 wt.% of p-chlorophenol and 10 wt.% of phenol, and the alkali metal content is 20 ppm or less.