Speaker
Description
Cold sintering is a relatively new process useful to consolidate ceramic-based systems at relatively low temperature (usually below 300°C) under pressure and in the presence of a solvent. Cold sintering has therefore a great potential as an innovative process, enabling the consolidation in a single step of organic materials in an inorganic matrix.
In the present work, natural source-derived calcium phosphates (CaPs) are consolidated via cold sintering introducing water and other solutions as solvent. CaPs were produced by mechanochemical synthesis, mixing calcium carbonate (CaCO3) derived from mussel shells with phosphoric acid in distilled water solution. Mussel shells, a biogenic source of CaCO3, are a green raw material recycled from food-industry waste, easily accessible all over the world. Shells are also characterized by the presence of trace elements (like Na+, Sr2+, Mg2+ and K+) which, in a biomaterial, can be useful to stimulate bone cell activity. The obtained synthesized powder was a Ca-deficient and carbonate-substituted hydroxyapatite, with a nanometric size and a flakes-like morphology.
Synthetized CaPs were also combined with organic materials to produce a composite having a ceramic matrix filled with a polymer. The physical, mechanical, and biological properties of the final component were investigated.
Cold sintering experiments were carried out to evaluate the effect of solvent amount, temperature, heating and pressing rate. External pressure and temperature provide a synergic effect on densification, allowing to achieve a relative density above 80%, without exceeding the maximum temperature of 300°C.
As preliminary biological investigation, the cytotoxicity of cold sintered samples was accessed to explore possible applications as scaffolds or prosthetic elements.
| Speaker Country | Italy |
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