In this work, we describe an effective method to produce uniform microspheres of poly(ether imide) (PEI) via precipitation behavior of polymers from homogeneous solutions. The PEI microspheres were obtained by dropwise addition of a precipitant that was an aqueous solution of poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) as a stabilizer into a dimethylacetamide (DMAc) solution of PEI and PVA. The size and size-distribution of PEI microspheres could be determined by precisely controlled concentrations of PEI and PVA, agitation speeds, and temperatures. For applications of selective laser sintering (SLS) process, flow properties of PEI microspheres were characterized by measuring the Hausner numbers. In addition, mechanical properties of the PEI microspheres were measured by conducting tensile tests.
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