Patent ID: 8148489

Claim:
A method for reducing outgassing of tetrahydrofuran (THF) in copolyether ester elastomers having polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) repeat units and polymerized in the presence of a titanium catalyst, the method comprising the step of: adding to the copolyether ester elastomer after polymerisation a titanium catalyst deactivating compound, wherein the titanium catalyst deactivating compound is selected from the group consisting of a compound of Formula IV, salts of Formula IV, a compound of Formula IV′, and salts of these, wherein R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are independently selected from H, OH, OM (wherein M is a positively charged counterion), optionally substituted C 1-20 alkyl, optionally substituted C 2-20 alkylene, optionally substituted C 6-20 aryl, optionally substituted C 1-20 alkyloxy, polyoxy(C 2-4 )alkylene, and optionally substituted C 6-20 aryloxy, and wherein the optional substituents are independently 1 to 2 in number on any of R 1 , R 2 and R 3 , and are independently selected from OH, halogen, COOH, COOR 4 (wherein R 4 is C 1-4 alkyl) and NH 2 ; two or more of R 1 , R 2 and R 3 can be optionally linked together by a bridge; with the provisos that for Formula (IV) R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are not simultaneously OH, and R 1 , R 2 and R 3 are not simultaneously H; and for Formula (IV′), R 1 and R 2 are not simultaneously OH.