Antonio R. de Arellano-Lopez

Fabrication, chemical etching, and compressive strength of porous biomimetic SiC for medical implants

BioSiC is a biomimetic SiC-based ceramic material fabricated by Si melt infiltration of carbon preforms obtained from wood. The microstructure of bioSiC mimics that of the wood precursor, which can be chosen for tailored properties. When the remaining, unreacted Si is removed, a SiC material with interconnected porosity is obtained. This porous bioSiC is under study for its use as a medical implant material. We have successfully fabricated bioSiC from Sipo wood and studied the kinetics of Si removal by wet etching. The results suggest that the reaction is diffusion-limited, and the etch rate follows a t −0.5 law. The etching rate is found to be anisotropic, which can be explained attending to the anisotropy of the pore distribution. The compressive strength was studied as a function of etching time, and the results show a quadratic dependence with density. In the attainable range of densities, the strength is similar or better than that of human bone.

Extensive studies on biomorphic SiC ceramics properties for medical applications

Biomorphic silicon carbide ceramics are light, tough and high-strengt h materials with interesting biomedical applications. The fabrication method of the biomor phic SiC is based in the infiltration of molten-Si in carbon preforms with open porosity. The fina l product is a biostructure formed by a tangle of SiC fibers. This innovative process allows the fabrication of complex shapes and the tailoring of SiC ceramics with optimised properties and cont rollable microstructures that will match the biomechanical requirements of the natural host tiss ue. An interdisciplinary approach of the biomorphic SiC fabricated from beech, sapelly and eucalyptus is presented. Their mechanical properties, microstructure and chemical composition were evaluated. The biocompatible behaviour of these materials has been tested in vitro .

Microstructure and creep properties of alumina/zirconia ceramics

Abstract High temperature creep of two zirconia toughened alumina ceramics, fabricated by powder processing and sol-gel precursors processing, has been studied in order to determine plastic deformation mechanisms. Compressive creep tests were carried out between 1300 and 1450 °C, under stresses from 10 to 150 M Pa. For the sample fabricated from powders, a stress exponent of 1.4 and an activation energy of 580 kJ/mol were found below a critical stress of 40 M Pa. For larger stresses, accelerated creep rates developed. In the specimens processed from precursors, values of 1.8 for the stress exponent and 540 kJ/mol for the activation energy, over the entire range of stresses have been determined. Creep parameters and microstructural evolution of the samples during the experiments have been correlated with models to establish the dominant creep mechanism.

Biomorphic Silicon Carbide Ceramics Coated with Bioactive Glass for Medical Applications

There is a need to develop new tough bioactive materials capable to withstand high loads when implanted in the body and with improved fixation, which led to the production of bioactive coatings on metallic substrates. A new approach, which consists of biomorphic silicon carbide (SiC) coated with bioactive glass, was recently presented. This new material joins the high mechanical strength, lightness and porosity of biomorphic SiC, and the bioactive properties of PLD glass films. In this work, a multiple evaluation in terms of biocompatibility of this new material was carried out starting from the biomorphic SiC morphology and porosity, following with the bioactivity of the coatings in simulated body fluid, and ending with a deep biocompatibility study with MG-63 cells. Different ranges of porosity and pore size were offered by the biomorphic SiC depending on the starting wood. The PLD glassy coatings had a high bioactivity in vitro and both the biomorphic SiC coated and uncoated presented high levels of biocompatibility.

Magnetic and Mechanical Properties of Magnetic Glass-Coated Microwires with Different Glass Coating

Glass coated microwires with two metallic nucleus compositions Co57Fe 6.1Ni10B15.9Si11 and Fe36,4Co41,7B11,8Si10,1 with 3 different glass coating compositions (Pyrex – 74.5% SiO2, 15% - B2O3, 3%- Na2O, 2%- Al2O3 1.5% -K2O; Nonex – 73% SiO2, 16.5% - B2O3, 6% - PbO 3 %-Na2O, 1.5% -K2O; and F1 – 70.2% SiO2, 27% - B2O3, 0.8 %-Na2O, 2%- LiO2 1% -K2O;) with very similar geometry (metallic nucleus diameter 7 µm, total diameter 19 µm) have been successfully fabricated and studied. Ferich microwires in as-prepared state show rectangular hysteresis loops, which is connected with the strong internal stresses induced by the fabrication process. Co-rich compositions show inclined hysteresis loop with smaller value of coercive field. The coercivity, Hc, of Co-rich microwires is the highest and of Ferich samples is the lowest in the case of Pyrex coated microwires. The Nonex coated microwires are in the intermediate position while the F1 coated Co-rich microwires have the lowest Hc while the Fe-rich samples have the highest Hc. The mechanical tests show that the best tensile strain yield is observed in samples coated by Nonex glass followed by Pyrex and F1. In this way the variation of the glass coating material allows to tailor both magnetic and mechanical properties of glass coated tiny microwires.

Fractographic Studies of Sapphire Fibers Using Laser Scanning Confocal Microscopy

Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) is a microscopic technique which allows for height discrimination. The ability to gather 3D data, along with adequate resolution (around 400 nm), makes the technique suitable for fractography; however, its applications in this area are not sufficiently explored. In this work, LSCM and SEM are applied to the study of fracture surfaces in sapphire and ruby fibers submitted to tensile stress in high-temperature conditions. The obtained qualitative and quantitative information demonstrates the validity of LSCM as a fractographical technique, allowing for clear identification of fractographical features and providing novel insight in the phenomenon of subcritical crack growth (SCG).

Rheological Properties of the Rare-Earth Doped Glasses

RE-Si-Mg-O-N glasses with RE = Sc, Y, La, Yb, Sm, or Lu with two different nitrogen contents were investigated to understand the effects of rare-earth elements and nitrogen on microhardness, indentation modulus, fracture toughness and viscosity. The microhardness and indentation modulus of glasses containing lanthanide dopants increase approximately linearly with the increase of the cationic field strength (CFS) of the corresponding RE element, whereas fracture toughness is almost unaffected. Nitrogen content increase shifts the dependencies to higher values. The properties of the glasses with non-lanthanide dopants, Y and Sc, deviate from linear dependence. At elevated temperatures, variations of the softening temperature Tg from linearity were found in Yband Sc-containing glasses. Additional differential thermal analysis experiments on Yb-containing glass revealed the possibility of changes in glass structure at elevated temperatures. CFS concept seems to be insufficient to describe all the effects of rare-earth dopants on the properties of the oxynitride glasses.

AFM Study of Typical Fracture Surfaces in Room-Temperature Fracture of Sapphire

Rhombohedral r-plane fracture surfaces in sapphire are analyzed by optical microscopy and by atomic force microscopy. Features of special interest include steps, lines and angles on the surface that appear to have crystallographic origins. A classification and description of these features is given over a scale ranging from hundreds of micrometers to tens of nanometers. Preferential directions in the surface are identified and related to the crystalline orientation of the sample; an attempt is made to identify the underlying phenomenology behind the appearance of each kind of feature.