Thermal and microestructural characterization of epoxy-infiltrated hydroxyapatite composite

Abstract

In this work, hydroxyapatite (HAp) obtained from the deorganification of bovine bones using hot NaOH solution was used to synthesize a HAp/epoxy infiltrated composite. Infiltration was carried out by vacuum assisted immersion in hot epoxy resin. The resulting composite was characterized regarding polymer content, morphological aspects and flexural strength. The infiltration method used resulted in thorough infiltration of the HAp but some residual porosity remained. Although the epoxy resin showed good interaction with the HAp, high polymer content was achieved and the flexural strength of the composite was higher than that of the original resin or the HAp, composite strength was lower than that of the human cortical bone.