Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Nano-Carbon Reinforced Titanium Matrix/Hydroxyapatite Biocomposites Prepared by Spark Plasma Sintering

Enhancing Bioactivity and Mechanical Properties of Nano-Hydroxyapatite Derived from Oyster Shells through Hydrothermal Synthesis

Nano-hydroxyapatite (nHA) demonstrates favorable biological activity, cell adhesion, cell proliferation, and osteoconductivity, making it highly valuable in biomedicine. It is extensively used as a bone substitute and in bone transplantation within the dental and orthopedic fields. This study employed oyster shells as a calcium source to synthesize nHA at 150 °C with various hydrothermal reaction durations (10 min, 1 h, 6 h, and 12 h). As a control, HA synthesized via a wet precipitation method for 1 h at room temperature was utilized. Subsequent material analyses, including XRD, FE-SEM, FTIR, and ICP-MS, were conducted, followed by comprehensive evaluations of the bioactivity, cell attachment, cell proliferation, and sintering properties of the synthesized nHA. The results indicated that nHA synthesized through the hydrothermal reaction produced nanoscale crystals, with the aspect ratio of nHA particles increasing with the duration of hydrothermal treatment. Notably, rod-like nHA particles became prominent with hydrothermal durations exceeding 6 h. nHA particles derived from oyster shells contained carbonate and trace elements (Na, Mg, K, and Sr), similar to constituents found in human hard tissue such as bone and teeth. The immersion of nHA synthesized at 150 °C for 1 h (HT2) in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 28 d led to the formation of a bone-like apatite layer on the surface, indicating the excellent bioactivity of the synthesized nHA. The cell culture results revealed superior cell attachment and proliferation for nHA (HT2). Following the sequential formation and sintering at 1200 °C for 4 h, HT2 ceramics exhibited enhanced microhardness (5.65 GPa) and fracture toughness (1.23 MPa·m0.5), surpassing those of human tooth enamel.

Tribological behavior and in vitro biocompatibility of powder metallurgical Ti-15Mo/HA composite for bone repair

Ti-15Mo/HA composite was prepared by powder metallurgy, and the influence of Hydroxyapatite (HA) on the microstructure, tribological behavior and in vitro biocompatibility was studied by comparison with TC4. The results show that the Ti-15Mo/HA composite consists of increased α-Ti, decreased β-Ti and a variety of ceramic phases (CaTiO3, Ca3(PO4)2, CaO, etc.) with the increase of HA content. The friction coefficient and wear rate of Ti-15Mo/HA composite is apparently lower than those of TC4 due to solid solution strengthening of Mo in Ti and dispersion strengthening of ceramic phases. Ti-15Mo/5HA displays more excellent wear resistance than the other composite. TC4 alloy is dominated by adhesive wear, however, Ti-15Mo alloy is a combination of adhesive wear and abrasive wear. Ti-15Mo/HA composite is mainly subjected to abrasive wear, together with adhesive wear. The viability and the number of mouse osteoblasts in Ti-15Mo/5HA extract are higher than that of Ti-15Mo. The morphology of the osteoblasts is clear and full, and the growth and proliferation are satisfactory with the increased cell pseudopodia with the culture time. The Ti-15Mo/HA composite displays good wear resistance and biocompatibility, and accordingly has a potential application in bone repair materials.

Evaluation of osteogenic and antibacterial properties of strontium/silver-containing porous TiO2 coatings prepared by micro-arc oxidation

Ti and Ti alloys are bioinert materials and two frequent problems associated with them are bacterial infection and lack of osteogenic potential for rapid bone integration. To overcome the problems, the present study incorporated strontium (Sr) and silver (Ag) simultaneously into porous TiO₂ coatings through a single-step technique, micro-arc oxidation (MAO). Incorporation of Sr and Ag brought no significant changes to coating micromorphology and physicochemical properties, but endowed TiO₂ coatings with both strong antibacterial activity and osteogenic ability. Antibacterial activity increased with Ag contents in the coatings. When Ag content reached 0.58 wt%, the coating showed both excellent short-term (100.0%) and long-term (77.6%) antibacterial activities. Sr/Ag-containing coatings with 18.23 wt% Sr and 0.58 wt% Ag also presented good cytocompatibility for preosteoblast adhesion and proliferation, and promoted preosteoblast osteogenic differentiation both short-termly and long-termly. However, higher Ag content (1.29 wt%) showed toxic effects to preosteoblasts. In summary, MAO is a simple and effective way to incorporate Sr and Ag into porous TiO₂ coatings and Sr/Ag-containing TiO₂ coating with 18.5 wt% Sr and 0.58 wt% Ag has both good osteogenic activity and strong antibacterial capability short-termly and long-termly. Therefore, such coatings are valuable for clinical application to strengthen osseointegration and long-term high quality use of titanum implants.

Micro-Nano Carbon Structures with Platelet, Glassy and Tube-Like Morphologies

Carbon source precursors for high-grade, clean, and low-carbon refractories were obtained by in situ exfoliation of flake graphite (FG) and phenol–formaldehyde resin (PF) composites with three-roll milling (TRM) for the fabrication of graphite nanoplatelets. In addition, by using Ni(NO₃)₂·6H₂O as a catalyst in the pyrolysis process, multidimensional carbon nanostructures were obtained with coexisting graphite nanoplatelets (GNPs), glassy carbon (GC), and carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The resulting GNPs (exfoliated 16 times) had sizes of 10–30 μm, thicknesses of 30–50 nm, and could be uniformly dispersed in GC from the PF pyrolysis. Moreover, Ni(NO₃)₂·6H₂O played a key role in the formation and growth of CNTs from a catalytic pyrolysis of partial PF with the V–S/tip growth mechanisms. The resulting multidimensional carbon nanostructures with GNPs/GC/CNTs are attributed to the shear force of the TRM process, pyrolysis, and catalytic action of nitrates. This method reduced the production costs of carbon source precursors for low-carbon refractories, and the precursors exhibited excellent performances when fabricated on large scales.

Preparation and Properties of Titanium Obtained by Spark Plasma Sintering of a Ti Powder⁻Fiber Mixture

Porous titanium is a functional structural material with certain porosity, which is prepared from titanium powder and titanium fiber. In order to study the porosity, phase structure, microstructure, sintering mechanism and mechanical properties of porous titanium obtained by spark plasma sintering of a Ti powder⁻fiber mixture at different sintering temperatures, a spherical titanium powder (D50 of 160 μm) was prepared via plasma rotating electrode processing, and titanium fiber (average wire diameter of fiber of 110 μm) was prepared by drawing, and they were mixed as raw materials according to different mass ratios. Porous titanium with a fiber⁻powder composite porous structure was prepared by spark plasma sintering at sintering temperatures of 800 °C, 900 °C and 1000 °C under a sintering pressure of 20 MPa. The results showed that there were no new phases occurring in porous titanium with porosity of 1.24⁻24.6% after sintering. Titanium fiber and titanium powder were sintered using powder/powder, powder/fiber and fiber/fiber regimes to form composite pore structures. The mass transfer mechanism of the sintered neck was a diffusion-dominated material migration mechanism during sintering. At higher sintering temperatures, the grain size was larger, and the fiber (800 °C; 10⁻20 μm) was finer than the powder (800 °C; 10⁻92 μm). The stress⁻strain curve of porous titanium showed no obvious yield point, and the compressive strength was higher at higher sintering temperatures. The results of this paper can provide data reference for the preparation of porous titanium obtained by spark plasma sintering of a Ti powder⁻fiber mixture.

Effect of Graphene Nanosheets Content on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Titanium Matrix Composite Produced by Cold Pressing and Sintering

The effect of graphene nanosheet (GNS) reinforcement on the microstructure and mechanical properties of the titanium matrix composite has been discussed. For this purpose, composites with various GNS contents were prepared by cold pressing and sintering at various time periods. Density calculation by Archimedes’ principle revealed that Ti/GNSs composites with reasonable high density (more than 99.5% of theoretical density) were produced after sintering for 5 h. Microstructural analysis by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and a field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) showed that TiC particles were formed in the matrix during the sintering process as a result of a titanium reaction with carbon. Higher GNS content as well as sintering time resulted in an increase in TiC particle size and volume fraction. Microhardness and shear punch tests demonstrated considerable improvement of the specimens’ mechanical properties with the increment of sintering time and GNS content up to 1 wt. %. The microhardness and shear strength of 1 wt. % GNS composites were enhanced from 316 HV and 610 MPa to 613 HV and 754 MPa, respectively, when composites sintered for 5 h. It is worth mentioning that the formation of the agglomerates of unreacted GNSs in 1.5 wt. % GNS composites resulted in a dramatic decrease in mechanical properties.