Abstract
• Zn-calcium silicate composites were produced by powder metallurgy route. • Lamellar structure was observed in the sintered composites. • Calcium silicate led to increase the aspect ratio of grains in the composites. • The change in the hardness was insignificant for the composites. In the present work, zinc (Zn) and calcium silicate (CaSiO3) powders were ball milled and sintered to produce biocomposites for orthopedic implant applications. The powders with predetermined composition (1, 2, and 4 wt% of calcium silicate and remaining being zinc) were ball milled for 1 hr and then were sintered at 320 ˚C. From the X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis carried out for powders and sintered compacts, no impurities were observed. Formation of lamellar structure was observed for all the sintered samples from the microstructural studies. The grains in the sintered compacts were appeared with different aspect ratio (thickness to length ratio) with the increased content of calcium silicate. Interestingly, microhardness was measured as decreased for all the composites compared with pure Zn. However, the difference was observed as statistically insignificant. From the preliminary observations, it can be concluded that Zn-calcium silicate composites can be successfully produced with lamellar morphology by ball milling followed by sintering for biomedical applications without affecting the mechanical behavior.
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