Comparative study of the nucleation activity of third‐generation sorbitol‐based nucleating agents for isotactic polypropylene

The nucleation activity of the sorbitol derivatives 1,2,3,4‐bis(3,4‐dimethylbenzylidene sorbitol) and methyldibenzylidene sorbitol are compared with that of talc, a conventional nucleating agent for the monoclinic crystalline phase of isotactic polypropylene. The thermal parameters associated with the dynamic crystallization process are studied as a function of the cooling rate by differential scanning calorimetry, and the nucleating efficiency is assessed by comparison with self‐nucleation, the highest values being observed for 1,2,3,4‐bis(3,4‐dimethylbenzylidene sorbitol) over the whole concentration range. The nature of the polymer crystals formed in the nucleated polymer was studied by X‐ray diffraction, and the data show an increase in a preferred orientation of the polymer crystallites with increasing concentration of nucleating agent. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 2440–2450, 2002