Synthesis and Characterization of Al2O3–Cr2O3-Based Ceramic Composites for Artificial Hip Joint

Abstract

The purpose of the present research work is to study the structural, mechanical and wear properties of artificial hip ceramic composites with varying proportion of aluminum and chromium oxide. The ceramic composites containing fixed amount of zirconium oxide, magnesium oxide, silicon nitride with varying amount of aluminum and chromium oxide were fabricated by using spark plasma sintering process and subsequently evaluated for structural (XRD, X-ray diffraction), elemental (EDS, energy-dispersive spectroscopy), mechanical (fracture toughness, elastic modulus and hardness) and wear properties. The results showed that aluminum and chromium oxide contents have a significant influence on the mechanical and wear properties of the fabricated ceramic composites. In particular, the composites containing 1.5 wt% chromium oxide and 70.5 wt% of aluminum oxide showed better mechanical properties with improved wear resistance. This result clearly indicates that the proposed ceramic materials may be a better alternative for artificial hip material.