Nucleating Agents in Polypropylene

The effects of nucleating agents such as dibenzylidene sorbitol (DBS) (a derivative of sorbitol), pine crystal 1500, sodium and potassium benzoates in commercial grade isotactic polypropylene iPP are studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Isothermal crystallization kinetics of polypropylene to the alpha phase have been analyzed using Avrami's model. Results indicate that dibenzylidene sorbitol and pine crystal are very effective in increasing the crystallization temperature of the polymer and number of nuclei formed during crystallization.