Polypropylene is a typical semicrystalline thermoplastic polymer

which is widely used in industrial production and daily life. Under different crystallization conditions

polypropylene can mainly form three crystal structures: α

β and γ. β-PP has attracted much attention in scientific research due to its excellent toughness and thermal properties. At present

the most convenient and efficient method to induce β-PP is to add β-nucleating agents. In this paper

the mechanism of nucleating agents induced crystallization is introduced and the research status of β-nucleating agents for polypropylene is reviewed. The types of β-nucleating agents involved include inorganic substances

fused ring compounds

amide compounds

dicarboxylic acid salts

rare earth compounds

and polymer nucleating agents. Finally

several suggestions are put forward for the design and preparation of β-nucleating agents for polypropylene.