Preparation of high-strength β-CaSiO3 bioceramic with B2O3 and SiO2 sintering additives

• Published in: Ceramics international Vol. 46; no. 16; pp. 25970 - 25978
• Main Authors: Mei, Lei, Yin, Jinwei, Xia, Yongfeng, Yao, Dongxu, Liang, Hanqin, Zuo, Kaihui, Zeng, Yu-Ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2020
• Subjects: Bioceramic; Calcium silicate; Liquid sintering; Mechanical properties; Mechanical properties; Bioceramic; Liquid sintering; Calcium silicate
• ISSN: 0272-8842; 1873-3956
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2020.07.086

Calcium silicate (CS) bioceramic is a promising candidate in bone tissue engineering due to its excellent bioactivity and biodegradability. However, the deficient mechanical properties make it challengeable in hard bone tissue replacement. In this work, high-strength β-CS bioceramics were prepared with low melting-point B2O3–SiO2 sintering additives using liquid phase sintering mechanism via a versatile milling-pressing-pressureless sintering route. The results showed that the addition of B2O3–SiO2 could significantly promote densification and induce the in-situ growth of β-CS rod-like grains. β-CS ceramics with 5 wt% addition of B2O3/SiO2 with mass ratio of 92.5:7.5 sintered at 1000 °C for 2 h exhibited a relatively high flexural strength of 228.14 MPa, increased by 340% compared to that of pure β-CS ceramic (52.08 MPa) prepared under the same conditions. The elevated strength fully qualified the strength requirement of cortical bone (135–193 MPa), indicating β-CS ceramic reinforced with B2O3–SiO2 additives had great potential in load-bearing bone repair.