Nucleating agents provide many benefits for polypropylene-based materials in automotive applications, including: 1. Improved molding productivity through increased crystallization temperature and crystallization rate of the supercooled polymer melt, 2. Enhanced stiffness/impact balance to enable thinwalling of parts, 3. Improved thermal properties for high temperature applications, and 4. Improved clarity for enhanced colorability and special visual effects. Common nucleating agents include carboxylate salts (sodium benzoate, NaOBz), sorbitol acetals (NA-S), and phosphate ester salts (NA-P). The use of the phosphate ester salt NA-P is particularly recommended to improve physical properties and molding productivity, while the sorbitol acetal NA-S is recommended as a clarifier.
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