Claims
- 1. A golf ball comprising a polymeric composite which comprises at least one polybutadiene.
- 2. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the polymeric composite has less than about 5 percent vinyl-isomer content in the polybutadiene.
- 3. The golf ball of claim 2, wherein the polymeric composite has less than about 3 percent vinyl-isomer content in the polybutadiene.
- 4. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the polymeric composite has at least about 20 percent trans-isomer content in the polybutadiene.
- 5. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the at least one polybutadiene has a molecular weight of at least about 200,000 and a polydispersity of less than about 3.
- 6. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the polymeric composite comprises a plurality of nanoparticles having an average size of less than about 5000 nm.
- 7. The golf ball of claim 6, wherein the nanoparticles comprise silica.
- 8. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the golf ball comprises at least two layers and the polymeric composite is disposed in at least one of the two layers.
- 9. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the polymeric composite is disposed in a core of the golf ball.
- 10. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the polymeric composite is disposed in a cover layer of the golf ball.
- 11. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the polymeric composite is disposed in an elastomeric thread that forms a layer in the golf ball.
- 12. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the polymeric composite comprises at least one polyisoprene polymer.
- 13. The golf ball of claim 12, wherein the at least one polyisoprene polymer has a trans-isomer content of at least about 10 percent.
- 14. The golf ball of claim 12, wherein the polymeric composite comprises a blend of the at least one polyisoprene polymer and at least one polybutadiene polymer.
- 15. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the polymeric composite comprises a blend of at least a first polymer having a first molecular weight and a second polymer having a second molecular weight, wherein the first and second molecular weights differ.
- 16. The golf ball of claim 15, wherein the first and second molecular weights differ by at least about 100,000.
- 17. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the effective modulus of the crosslinked polymeric composite is less than about 110 MPa.
- 18. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the coefficient of restitution of the polymeric composite is greater than about 0.8.
- 19. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the flexural modulus of an uncrosslinked compound comprising the polymeric composite is greater than about 3.5 MPa.
- 20. A method of preparing the golf ball of claim 1 which comprises:
combining a first polybutadiene cement having at least about 50 percent trans-isomer content and a second polybutadiene cement having at least about 90 percent cis-isomer content to form a first mixture; evaporating at least substantially all of the solvent from the first mixture to obtain a polymeric composite; combining the polymeric composite with at least one crosslinking agent to obtain a second mixture; and forming the second mixture into at least a portion of the golf ball.
- 21. The method of claim 20, wherein the forming comprises injection molding.
- 22. The method of claim 20, wherein the first polybutadiene cement has been polymerized in the presence of a sufficient amount of cobalt-catalyst to increase the trans-isomer content of the polybutadiene.
- 23. The method of claim 20, wherein at least one of the polybutadiene cements has been polymerized in the presence of a sufficient amount of nickel or neodymium catalyst to increase the molecular weight of the cement.
- 24. A golf ball comprising:
a polymeric composite which comprises:
a first polybutadiene having at least 90 percent cis-isomer; a second polybutadiene having at least 70 percent trans-isomer; and a plurality of nanoparticles,
wherein the polymeric composite comprises a polybutadiene has less than about 5 percent vinyl-isomer content.
- 25. A golf ball formed from a crosslinked polymeric composite wherein the flexural modulus of the uncrosslinked polymeric composite is greater than about 3.5 MPa.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/741,053, filed Dec. 21, 2000, now pending. The priority application is incorporated herein in its entirety by express reference thereto.
Continuation in Parts (1)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09741053 |
Dec 2000 |
US |
Child |
09923407 |
Aug 2001 |
US |