Synthesis and Characterization of White Mineral Trioxide Aggregate Using Precipitated Calcium Carbonate Extracted from Limestone

Abstract

White Mineral Trioxide Aggregate (WMTA) using precipitated CaCO3 (PCC) from limestone has been synthesized. PCC in calcite structure was extracted from limestone by calcination at 900 °C for 3 h, dissolved in 0.8 M nitric acid solution and followed with carbonation for 60 minutes. PCC was used for the synthesis of WMTA by mixing with tetraethoxyorthosilicate, bismuth oxide, aluminum oxide, catalyst of with HNO3 and NH3 solution and thermally treated at 1100 °C for 3 h. The products were characterized with Thermal Gravimetric Analysis-Differential Thermal Analysis (TGA-DTG), X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Frontier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray Fluorescence (XRF). The results showed that the PCC dominated calcite structure was obtained with 75.25% in yield and 99.42% in purity. The WMTA has been successfully synthesized by low thermal treatment at 1100 °C using catalysts of HNO3 and NH3 solution, proven by the presence of tricalcium silicate (C3S), dicalcium silicate (C2S), tricalcium aluminate (C3A), and Bi2O3 in WMTA.