Effect of Sintering Temperature to the Mechanical Properties of Different Filler Loading of Zirconia Powder in Hydroxyapatite Composites

Abstract

Hydroxyapatite (HA)-Zirconia (ZrO2) composite with varying zirconia composition ranging from 1 to 10 wt% was investigated for biomedical applications in order to produce high compressive strength. Precipitation method was used to prepare both hydroxyapatite and zirconia powders. To find the ideal composition, mixture-containing 1, 3, 5 and 10 wt% ZrO2 powder was added. Each mixture was sintered for 4 hours at 750oC, 1050oC and 1250oC. Hardness and compressive strength test were used for evaluation. It was found that with 1 wt% of ZrO2 sintered at 1250oC showed the greatest structural strength as its volume fraction porosity is the lowest. The hardness and compressive strength of this sample were found to be 2.75 GPa and 72.0 MPa respectively. This can be useful for biomedical applications especially in promoting osteo-integration.