Kaihui Zuo

The improved mechanical properties of β-CaSiO3 bioceramics with Si3N4 addition

The motivation of this study is to investigate the effect of Si3N4 addition on the sinterability of β-CaSiO3 ceramics. β-CaSiO3 ceramics with different content of Si3N4 were prepared at the sintering temperature ranging from 1000°C to 1150°C. The results showed that Si3N4 can be successfully used as sintering additive by being oxidized to form SiO2. The β-CaSiO3 ceramics with 3wt% Si3N4 sintered at 1100°C revealed flexural strength, hardness and fracture toughness of 157.2MPa, 4.4GPa and 2.3MPam(1/2) respectively, which was much higher than that of pure β-CaSiO3 ceramics (41.1MPa, 1.0GPa, 1.1MPam(1/2)). XRD analysis and SEM observation indicated that the main phase maintained to be β-phase after sintering.

Gradient porous hydroxyapatite ceramics fabricated by freeze casting method

By controlling the cooling rates and the composition of slurries, the gradient porous hydroxyapatite ceramics are fabricated by the freeze casting method. According to the different cooling rate, the pores of HAP ceramics fabricated by gradient freeze casting are divided into three parts: one is lamellar pores, another is column pore and the last one is fine round pores. The laminated freeze casting is in favour of obtaining the gradient porous ceramics composed of different materials and the ceramics have unclear interfaces.

Effects of silica sol on the microstructure and mechanical properties of CaSiO3 bioceramics.

CaSiO3 ceramics were fabricated with silica sol addition by pressureless sintering. The effects of silica sol on phase composition, microstructure and mechanical properties of CaSiO3 ceramics were investigated. The silica sol additive was found to be effective in speeding up pore elimination, improving the grain growth, decreasing the sintering temperature and shortening the sintering time. When the amount of SiO2 was 5wt%, a flexural strength of 186.2MPa was achieved with an open porosity of 3.9%. The main crystal phase was β-CaSiO3 below sintering temperature of 1150°C.

Effects of h-BN addition on microstructures and mechanical properties of β-CaSiO3 bioceramics.

The main purpose of this study consists in investigating the effects of h-BN addition on the sinterability of β-CaSiO3 (β-CS) bioceramics. β-CS bioceramics with different contents of h-BN were prepared at the sintering temperature ranging from 800°C to 1100°C. The results showed that h-BN can be successfully used as sintering additive by being oxidized to form low melting point B2O3 related glassy phase and enhanced the flexural strength by the formation of rod-like β-CS grains. β-CS bioceramics with 1wt% h-BN sintered at 1000°C revealed flexural strength and fracture toughness of 182.2MPa and 2.4MPam(1/2) respectively, which were much higher than that of pure β-CS bioceramics (30.2MPa, 0.53MPam(1/2)) fabricated in the same processing condition.