Zinc Diacrylate

Compounds such as Zinc Diacrylate are added to the polybutadiene mixture during the manufacture of golf ball cores. Zinc Diacrylate is used to increase chemical Cross-linking.  Ideally, the goal is a high level of cross-linking among long polybutadiene molecules because the more that the molecules are linked, the stronger the chemical bonds and the faster (more resilient) the core will be.  Peroxides are also added to the mixture to catalyze the cross-linking reaction when heat and pressure are applied.  The aim in designing a golf ball core is to return a tremendous amount of energy when a force is applied to it.