Reversing and non-reversing effects of PEEK-HA composites on tuning cooling rate during crystallization

Abstract

The development of bio-compatible materials for bone implants bone healing is one of the key research areas in biomaterials. In this paper, composites of polyether-ether-ketone (PEEK) (a bio-compatible polymer) and hydroxyapatite (HA) were synthesized using thermal process, The qualities of the composites were analyzed with X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) for characterizing the nature of stress and bonding. The morphological study of the PEEK-HA composites were studied through Scanning electron microscopy. The compressive nature of the composites as well as raw materials was observed based on XRD data with internal lattice-strain analysis. The temperature-modulated differential scanning calorimetry (TM-DSC) and conventional differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) were performed for analyzing the crystallization process. The TM-DSC showed that both reversing and non-reversing processes were active during the crystallization between 160 °C–330 °C. However, a higher residual time of PEEK at elevated temperatures tends to facilitate polymer degradation and spread the crystallization process over a broader temperature range. Addition of HA particles provided heterogeneous nucleation sites for crystallization but also reduced the mobility of polymer chains. The combination of enhanced nucleation rate, reduced chain mobility and polymer degradation processes together lead to a wide range of crystallinity in PEEK-HA composites.