A method of nucleating a propylene homo- or copolymer, the method comprising
contacting
the propylene polymer with a semi-crystalline branched or coupled polymeric nucleating
agent under nucleation conditions. In one embodiment, the propylene homopolymer
is characterized as having 13C NMR peaks corresponding to a regio-error
at about 14.6 and about 15.7 ppm, the peaks of about equal intensity. In another
embodiment, the copolymer is characterized as comprising at least about 60 weight
percent (wt %) of units derived from propylene, and as having at least one of the
following properties: (i) 13C NMR peaks corresponding to a regio-error
at about 14.6 and about 15.7 ppm, the peaks of about equal intensity, (ii) a B-value
greater than about 1.4 when the comonomer content, i.e., the units derived from
ethylene and/or the unsaturated comonomer(s), of the copolymer is at least about
3 wt %, (iii) a skewness index, Six, greater than about -;1.20, (iv)
a DSC curve with a Tme that remains essentially the same and a Tmax
that decreases as the amount of comonomer, i.e., the units derived from ethylene
and/or the unsaturated comonomer(s), in the copolymer is increased, and (v) an
X-ray diffraction pattern that reports more gamma-form crystals than a comparable
copolymer prepared with a Ziegler-Natta (Z-N) catalyst.
