Phase composition, sinterability and bioactivity of amorphous nano-CaO-SiO2-CuO powder synthesized by sol-gel technique

Abstract

Nowadays, the advancement of sciences urged the scientists to synthesize nano materials having a good bioactivity. Amorphous nano CaO–SiO2–CuO materials were prepared by sol-gel method and investigated for their phase composition, sinterability and bioactivity. To detect the crystallization temperature, calcination was conducted at different temperatures. Phase composition was examined by XRD and confirmed by FTIR. Bioactivity of prepared powder was assessed through soaking in simulated body fluid (SBF) then examined by FTIR. Also, concentrations of Ca, P, Si and Cu in (SBF) solution were recorded by inductive coupled plasma (ICP). Furthermore, the antibacterial properties were evaluated against S. aureus and S. epidermidis bacteria. The prepared powders were sintered up to 1300 °C and their physico-mechanical properties were studied. The results revealed that the materials calcined at 600 and 800 °C exhibited amorphous character while that calcined at 1000 °C was crystalline in nature. Sintering up to 1300 °C led to production of dense bodies having appropriate physico-mechanical properties. The mechanical properties increased with increasing sintering temperature and decreasing CuO content except fracture toughness which increased with increasing CuO content. Also, the results pointed out that the lower the CuO content in the samples; the higher are their bioactivity and antibacterial behavior. Furthermore, the amorphous ones exhibited better bioactivity than the crystalline ones.