Toughening effect of ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene and compounded α/β nucleation agents on isotactic polypropylene by different processing methods

The improvement in the toughness of isotactic polypropylene by introducing ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene and further blending it with compounded α/β nucleation agents were studied. According to the results, the polyethylene with higher molecular weight and dissolving method have affected the toughening of isotactic polypropylene. For isotactic polypropylene/nucleation agent blend, the Izod impact strength increases by 93.5% with a slight decrease in the tensile strength. When both nucleation agents and polyethylene are added, the synergistic toughening effect is more remarkable, and the Izod impact strength is about 232% higher than that of pure isotactic polypropylene.