Nucleation effect of inclusion complexes with different polyolefin as guest molecules on the crystallization of polypropylene

The γ‐cyclodextrin (γ‐CD) inclusion complexes (ICs) with four kinds of polyolefin (PO) as guest molecules were prepared. The crystallization behavior of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) blended with the γ‐CD and γ‐CD–PO ICs was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy, and light scattering. The iPP blended with the ICs was found to exhibit higher crystallization temperature (T_C), smaller spherulites, and faster crystallization rate than those of neat iPP, indicating that the ICs play a role of nucleating agent on the crystallization of iPP and induce accelerated crystallization. The IC with PO having higher T_C as guest molecules showed higher nucleation effect than the IC with PO having lower T_C as guest molecules. The results suggest that the nucleation effect of these ICs was affected by the kinds of the guest molecules. The higher T_C guest molecules could result in higher nucleation effect. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010