Abstract
The present work deals with the preparation and characterization of ceramic composites for the substitution of load-bearing bone portions, made of hydroxyapatite (HA) and bioactive β-calcium silicate (β-Ca 2SiO4) as a reinforcing phase. The composite materials were prepared by Fast Hot-Pressing technique (FHP), which allowed the rapid sintering of monolithic ceramics at temperatures up to 1500°C, well above the commonly adopted temperatures for sintering of hydroxyapatite (1200-1300°C), in order to achieve the densification of the reinforcing phase also. XRD analysis reported no formation of secondary phases other than HA and β-Ca2SiO4, after FHP cycles. Flexural strength tests were performed on selected samples sintered at different temperatures: the composite materials exhibited increased mechanical resistance compared to samples constituted of HA only. These preliminary results confirmed that composites of HA and β-Ca2SiO4 are promising for the development of bioactive load-bearing ceramic bone substitutes.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 423-426 |
| Number of pages | 4 |
| Journal | Key Engineering Materials |
| Volume | 361-363 I |
| State | Published - 2008 |
Keywords
- Calcium silicate
- Composite
- Flexural strength
- Hot-pressing
- Hydroxyapatite
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ceramics and Composites
- Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous)