Patent ID: 7879933

Claim:
A thermoplastic composition consisting essentially of: (a) a thermoplastic polymer selected from the group consisting of polyolefins, polyamides, polyesters, and combinations thereof; (b) a first nucleating agent selected from the group consisting of compounds conforming to the structure of Formula (I) wherein M 1 and M 2 are the same or different, or M 1 and M 2 are combined to from a single moiety, and are independently selected from the group consisting of metal or organic cations, and R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , R 6 , R 7 , R 8 , R 9 , and R 10 are individually selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, C 1 -C 9 alkyl, hydroxyl, C 1 -C 9 alkoxy, C 1 -C 9 alkyleneoxy, amine, and C 1 -C 9 alkylamine, halogen, phenyl, alkylphenyl, and C 1 -C 9 carbocyclic; and (c) a second nucleating agent selected from the group consisting of compounds conforming to the structure of Formula (II) wherein R is selected from the group consisting of a carbon-to-carbon bond, thio sulfur (—S—), and alkylidene groups conforming to the structure below in which R 3 and R 4 are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl having from one to about eighteen carbon atoms, and cycloalkyl, including cycloalkylidene in which R 3 and R 4 are taken together as part of a cycloalkylene ring having from three to about twelve carbon atoms; wherein R 1 and R 2 each are selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, alkyl having from about one to about eighteen carbon atoms, and cycloalkyl having from about 3-12 carbon atoms; wherein M is a metal atom selected from the group consisting of alkali metal atoms and alkaline earth metal atoms; and n is the valence of the metal atom M, and ranges from 1 to 2.