Polyphenylene sulfide polymers having improved melt-stability

A polyphenylene sulfide (“PPS”) polymer comprising:

• (i) no more than 10 μeq of calcium end-capping agents, wherein each calcium end-capping agent is represented by a formula selected from the following group of formulae:
• where M is Ca and n is 2 and
• (ii) at least 10 μeq of sodium end-capping agents, wherein each sodium end-capping agent is represented by a formula selected from the group of formulae consisting of Formulae (2) to (4), wherein M is Na and n is 1;
• and
• wherein
• R, at each location, is independently selected from the group consisting of an alkyl, an aryl, an alkoxy, an aryloxy, an alkylketone, an arylketone, a fluoroalkyl, a fluoroaryl, a bromoalkyl, a bromoaryl, a chloroalkyl, a chloroaryl, an alkylsulfone, an arylsulfone, an alkylamide, an arylamide, an alkylester, an arylester, a fluorine, a chlorine, and a bromine;
• i is an integer from 0 to 4.