Abstract
Lithium disilicate (Li2Si2O5) glass-ceramics are an ideal material for dental restoration; however, their intrinsic brittleness and low defect tolerance limit the scope of their clinical applications. In this study, Li2Si2O5 whiskers were creatively synthesized via a mild-condition hydrothermal reaction. Self-reinforced Li2Si2O5 glass-ceramics were sintered by introducing the Li2Si2O5 whiskers, and their effects on phase, microstructure, and mechanical properties were systematically studied. The crystal-growth and toughening mechanisms were also discussed. The results showed that the Li2Si2O5 whiskers played an important role in inducing crystallization, and improving the microstructure and properties of the glass-ceramics. With increasing amounts of Li2Si2O5 whiskers, the crystallinities increased slightly, and the average crystal size also increased. The microstructure was composed of crystals of bimodal size distributions, in which some large, rod-like Li2Si2O5 crystals epitaxially grew along with the whiskers, and small crystals directly crystallized from the parent glass-ceramic powders. The Li2Si2O5 glass-ceramics exhibited high flexural strength (389.5 ± 11.77 MPa, LDW3), and fracture toughness (3.46 ± 0.10 MPa·m1/2, LDW5). The improved properties were attributed mainly to crack deflection and bridge-toughening mechanisms.
Highlights
Li2Si2O5 glass-ceramics are a kind of dental restoration material with Li2Si2O5 as the main crystalline phase, which has suitable mechanical properties and aesthetical characteristics owing to its unique crystal properties and distribution (Montazerian and Zanotto, 2017; Fu et al, 2020)
The synthesis of the Li2Si2O5 whiskers by the hydrothermal method laid the foundation for the subsequent Li2Si2O5 whisker-reinforced glassceramic
The results showed that Li2Si2O5 whisker reinforcement has great potential in improving the mechanical properties of Li2Si2O5 glass-ceramics
Summary
Li2Si2O5 glass-ceramics are a kind of dental restoration material with Li2Si2O5 as the main crystalline phase, which has suitable mechanical properties and aesthetical characteristics owing to its unique crystal properties and distribution (Montazerian and Zanotto, 2017; Fu et al, 2020). These glassceramics are considered promising candidates for restorative dentistry applications. Many researchers have attempted to improve the fracture toughness of Li2Si2O5 glass-ceramics by changing their heat-treatment process and using different nucleating agents (Huang et al, 2014; Lien et al, 2015; Wang et al, 2015; Sun et al, 2021), but with unsatisfactory results. The difference between the two routes lies in their crystallization mechanism: the melting method involves overall crystallization to obtain high-density materials, while the sintering method is beneficial to the surface crystallization
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