Influences of Molecular Weight and Content of Polyethylene Glycol on Morphology and Size of Nano-Bioactive Glass

Abstract

Nano-bioactive glass (NBG) was prepared via sol-gel method and freeze-dried technique using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as templates. The influences of molecular weight and content of polyethylene glycol on the morphology and the size NBG particles were investigated. The optimal sintering temperature of NBG was determined by using thermal gravimetric (TG) and differential thermal analysis (DTA), and the NBG particles were characterized by Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The XRD pattern of NBG sintered at 650°C in air confirmed that the calcined glass existed in amorphous state. The results indicated that the PEG molecular weight and PEG content have obvious effects on the morphology and size of the NBG particles. The size of NBG particle prepared with PEG-200 was beyond 1μm and the aggregation was obvious. The size of obtained NBG particle with PEG-10000 was between 50 nm and 80 nm, with a hollow spherical shape; while the morphology of the NBG with PEG-20000 was needle-shaped, with an average width of 20 nm and length of 100 nm. The particle size of the NBG particles decreased with the increase of PEG concentration.