β

-nucleated isotactic polypropylene (

i

PP) fibers with diameters less than 5 μm were prepared through melt electrospinning. The effects of electrospinning process and rare earth

β

-nucleating agent (WBG) on the crystal structure of

i

PP fibers were investigated. The results indicate that the addition of WBG can improve the fluidity of iPP melt remarkably and help the formation of fine fibers with thinner diameter

while the electrostatic force applied on the

i

PP melt is not favorable for the formation of

β

-crystal in iPP fibers. In addition

the morphology and crystalline structure of WBG/

i

PP electrospun fibers depended on the content of WBG. Both the crystallinity and the percentage of

β

-crystal form of WBG/

i

PP electrospun fibers increase with the rise of the content of nucleating agent

which endows the prepared electrospun fibers excellent mechanical properties. The

β

-nucleated iPP electrospun fibrous membranes prepared in this study can be used for protective clothing material

filtration media

reinforcement for composites and tissue engineering scaffolds.