The Effect of ZrO2 and TiO2 Reinforcing Agent on the Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Hydroxyapatite Nanocomposites

Abstract

The effect of additives like zirconia and titania on the mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite nanocomposites was investigated. Nanocomposites were manufactured through high-energy ball milling (HEBM) at 300 rpm for 1 h was adopted to produce the composite powders. The specimens were fabricated through compacting at 100 bar with a stay time of 150 s and sintered at 1200 °C. X-ray beam diffraction demonstrated that the crystallite and grain size estimate steadily diminished with the expansion in ZrO2 and ZrO2 + TiO2 content till 20wt%, after which there was a sudden rise in crystallite and grain sizes of both the composites. An overwhelming ZrO2 stage was seen in the X-ray beam diffraction (XRD) and smaller scale basic examination (Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy—FE-SEM) of the sintered samples. Mechanical properties were observed to be enhanced including 20wt% of ZrO2 and ZrO2 + TiO2 at 1200 °C. There was a drop in the mechanical properties of HAp due to the expansion of 25 wt% of ZrO2 and ZrO2 + TiO2 composites. The drop could be because of the expansion in grain size and prevailing particles of ZrO2.