Claims
- 1. A golf ball comprising a core and a cover, wherein the core comprises a solution blended polymeric composite comprising at least two polybutadienes and a plurality of nanoparticles having an average size of less than about 100 nm.
- 2. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein at least one polybutadiene comprises less than about 5 percent vinyl-isomer.
- 3. The golf ball of claim 2, wherein at least one polybutadiene has less than about 3 percent vinyl-isomer.
- 4. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein at least one polybutadiene has at least about 20 percent trans-isomer.
- 5. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein 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 nanoparticles comprise silica.
- 7. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the golf ball further comprises an intermediate layer disposed between the core and the cover.
- 8. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the core comprises at least two layers.
- 9. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the polymeric composite further comprises at least one polyisoprene polymer.
- 10. The golf ball of claim 9, wherein the at least one polyisoprene polymer has a trans-isomer content of at least about 10 percent.
- 11. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the at least two polybutadienes comprise a first polybutadiene having a first molecular weight and a second polybutadiene having a second molecular weight, wherein the first and second molecular weights differ.
- 12. The golf ball of claim 11, wherein the first and second molecular weights differ by at least about 100,000.
- 13. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the effective modulus of the crosslinked polymeric composite is less than about 110 MPa.
- 14. The golf ball of claim 1, wherein the coefficient of restitution of the polymeric composite is greater than about 0.8.
- 15. 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.
- 16. A method of preparing the golf ball of claim 1 which comprises:combining nanoparticle 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 position of the golf ball.
- 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the forming comprises injection molding.
- 18. The method of claim 16, 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.
- 19. The method of claim 16, 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.
- 20. 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.
- 21. A golf ball comprising a core and a cover, wherein the core comprises a solution blended polymeric composite comprising a first polybutadiene, a second polybutadiene, and a plurality of nanoparticles having an average size of less than about 100 nm, wherein the core has a coefficient of restitution of greater than about 0.8.
- 22. The golf ball of claim 21, wherein the plurality of nanoparticle have an average size of about 1 nm to about 50 nm.
- 23. The golf ball of claim 21, wherein the first polybutadiene has at least about 50 percent trans-isomer content and wherein the second polybutadiene has at least about 90 percent cis-isomer content.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 09/741,053, filed Dec. 21, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,555,627. The priority application is incorporated herein in its entirety by express reference thereto.
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/741053 |
Dec 2000 |
US |
Child |
09/923407 |
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US |