A Study of Hybrid Composite Hydroxyapatite (HA)-Geopolymers as a Material for Biomedical Application

Abstract

The main purpose of this research is to study the physical properties and microstructure characters of hybrid composites HA-geopolymers as a material for biomedical application. Hybrid composite HA–geopolymers were produced through alkaline activation method of metakaolin as a matrix and HA as the filler. HA was synthesized from eggshell particles by using a precipitation method. The addition of HA in metakaolin paste was varied from 0.5%, 1.0%, 1.5%, and 2.0% relative the weight of metakaolin. FTIR was used to examine the absorption bands the composites. X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to study the crystal structure of the starting and the resulting materials. Scanning Electron Microscopy-Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) was used to investigate the surface morphology of the composites. The thermal properties of the samples was examined by means of Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). Capacitance measurement was conducted to investigate the bioactive properties of HA. The study results suggest that hybrid composite HA-geopolymers has a potential to be applied as a biomedical such as biosensor material.