Patent ID: 8779045

Claim:
A thermoplastic polymer composition consisting of: (a) a thermoplastic polymer, wherein the thermoplastic polymer is a polyethylene; and (b) a nucleating agent, the nucleating agent comprising a compound conforming to the structure of Formula (I) wherein x is a positive integer; R 1 , R 2 , R 3 , R 4 , R 5 , and R 6 are hydrogen; each M 1 is a metal cation selected from the group consisting of zinc cations; y is the valence of the metal cation; z is a positive integer; wherein the values of x, y, and z satisfy the equation x=yz; and (c) optionally, one or more additional components selected from the group consisting of additional thermoplastic polymers, antioxidants, anti-blocking agents, fillers, reinforcing agents, nucleating agents, clarifying agents, acid scavengers, polymer processing additives, polymer cross-linking agents, slip agents, and fatty acid ester compounds.