Anionic polyurea cover compositions for a multi-layer golf ball

Abstract

Golf balls formed with at least one layer incorporating an anionic polyurea material formed from an isocyanate, an amine-terminated component, and an amine-terminated curing agent where at least one of the amine-terminated component and amine-terminated curing agent includes a R′-R″ segment with acid functionalization.

1 . A golf ball comprising:
 a core;   a layer disposed about the core; and   a cover, wherein the cover comprises a polymer comprising:
 a polyurea prepolymer comprising an isocyanate-containing component and an isocyanate-reactive component, wherein the isocyanate reactive component has at least one of the following general formulas: 
   
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
         
           wherein x and y are the number of repeat units, R 2  comprises an alkyl, aryl, or aralkyl group, and R′ and R″ may independently comprise a hydrocarbon, a polyether, a polyester, a polycaprolactone, a polycarbonate, a polyamide, or a mixture thereof, and wherein at least one of R′ and R″ further comprise at least one acid group; and 
           a curative comprising: 
           an amine-terminated curing agent; and 
           a neutralizing agent; 
           wherein greater than about 70 percent of the acid groups in the polymer are neutralized. 
         
       
     
     
         2 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the curative further comprises a flow modifier. 
     
     
         3  The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein greater than about 80 percent of the acid groups in the polymer are neutralized. 
     
     
         4 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of R′ and R″ comprises at least one of a carboxylate group, a sulfonate group, a phosphonate group, or a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         5 . The golf ball of  claim 4 , wherein R′ comprises a carboxylate group and R″ comprises a sulfonate group. 
     
     
         6 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the isocyanate-reactive component comprises between about 5 percent to about 30 percent acid groups by weight of the isocyanate-reactive component. 
     
     
         7 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the isocyanate-reactive component comprises greater than about 16 weight percent acid groups based on the total weight of the isocyanate-reactive component. 
     
     
         8 . The golf ball of  claim 2 , wherein 100 percent of the acid groups in the polymer are neutralized. 
     
     
         9 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the layer comprises a thermoplastic material. 
     
     
         10 . The golf ball of  claim 1 , wherein the layer comprises a blend of high acid ionomer and a grafted metallocene catalyzed polymer. 
     
     
         11 . A golf ball comprising a core, a cover, and an intermediate layer disposed between the core and the cover, wherein the cover comprises a polymer comprising:
 a polyurea prepolymer comprising the reaction product of an isocyanate-containing component and an isocyanate-reactive component, wherein the isocyanate-reactive component comprises at least two terminal amino groups and about 5 percent to about 30 percent acid groups by weight of the isocyanate-reactive component, and wherein about 20 percent to about 70 percent of the acid groups are neutralized; and   an amine-terminated curing agent.   
     
     
         12 . The golf ball of  claim 11 , wherein the isocyanate-reactive component comprises greater than about 16 weight percent acid groups. 
     
     
         13 . The golf ball of  claim 11 , wherein the isocyanate-reactive component comprises an acid-functionalized amine-terminated hydrocarbon, an acid-functionalized amine-terminated polyester, an acid-functionalized amine-terminated polyether, an acid-functionalized amine-terminated polycarbonate, an acid-functionalized amine-terminated polycaprolactone, an acid-functionalized amine-terminated polyamide, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         14 . A golf ball comprising a core, an inner cover layer disposed about the core, and an outer cover layer disposed about the inner cover layer, wherein the cover comprises a polymer comprising the reaction product of
 a polyurea prepolymer formed from the reaction product of a diisocyanate and an amine-terminated component; and   a curative comprising:
 an amine-terminated curing agent having at least one of the following general formulas: 
   
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
         
           wherein x and y are the number of repeat units, R 2  comprises an alkyl, aryl, or aralkyl group, and R′ and R″ may independently comprise a hydrocarbon, a polyether, a polyester, a polycaprolactone, a polycarbonate, a polyamide, or a mixture thereof, and wherein at least one of R′ and R″ further comprise at least one acid group; and 
           a neutralizing agent; 
         
         wherein greater than about 70 percent of the acid groups in the polymer are neutralized. 
       
     
     
         15 . The golf ball of  claim 14 , wherein at least one of R′ and R″ comprise at least one of a carboxylate group, a sulfonate group, a phosphonate group, or a mixture thereof. 
     
     
         16 . The golf ball of  claim 14 , wherein the curative further comprises a flow modifier. 
     
     
         17 . The golf ball of  claim 14 , wherein greater than about 80 percent of the acid groups in the polymer are neutralized. 
     
     
         18 . The golf ball of  claim 14 , wherein the inner cover layer comprises a thermoplastic material. 
     
     
         19 . The golf ball of  claim 18 , wherein the inner cover layer comprises a high acid ionomer. 
     
     
         20 . The golf ball of  claim 14 , wherein the inner cover layer comprises a blend of high acid ionomer and a metallocene catalyzed polymer comprising at least one grafted moiety.