Fabrication, Mechanical Properties and In-Vitro Behavior of Akermanite Bioceramic

Fariborz Tavangarian; Caleb A Zolko; Sorour Sadeghzade; Marwan Fayed; Keivan Davami

doi:10.3390/ma13214887

Fabrication, Mechanical Properties and In-Vitro Behavior of Akermanite Bioceramic

Materials (Basel). 2020 Oct 30;13(21):4887. doi: 10.3390/ma13214887.

Authors

Fariborz Tavangarian¹, Caleb A Zolko¹, Sorour Sadeghzade¹, Marwan Fayed², Keivan Davami³

Affiliations

¹ Mechanical Engineering Program, School of Science, Engineering and Technology, Pennsylvania State University, Harrisburg, Middletown, PA 17057, USA.
² Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
³ Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA.

Abstract

Pure nanocrystalline akermanite (Ca₂MgSi₂O₇) powder was synthesized by mechanical activation with subsequent annealing of talc, calcium carbonate, and silicate powders as the initial materials. Powder samples were characterized by X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The results showed that pure nanocrystalline akermanite with a crystalline size of 35 nm was synthesized after ball milling the initial powders for 20 h with subsequent annealing at 900 °C for 1 h. Mechanical properties of bulk akermanite samples were studied as well. The results showed that the produced akermanite tablets sintered at 1200 °C for 5 h had a Young's modulus of 3800 MPa, an ultimate compressive strength of 24.7 MPa, and a density of 2.489 g/cm³. The in-vitro behavior of the produced akermanite was evaluated by soaking the samples in an SBF solution. The results showed that the produced akermanite had the apatite formation ability on its surface and can be a good candidate for bone tissue engineering applications.

Keywords: akermanite; bioactivity; ceramics; mechanical properties; nanocrystals.