Processing and Crystal Microstructure of Porous High Pressure Crystallized Nanodiamond/UHMWPE Biomedical Nanocomposite

Abstract

A novel processing technique using a series of mixing/refluxing procedures and high-pressure crystallization (HPC) to fabricate nanodiamond/ultra high molecular weight polyethylene (ND/UHMWPE) nanocomposites for biomedical application was examined. For better mimetic lubrication, a porous structure was implemented in this study. Vitamin E as an anti-oxidation additive was also incorporated in selected porous specimens. The morphology of the specimens was investigated by transmission electron microscopy. The phase and crystal characteristics were revealed by Raman spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. Shore D hardness was used to study the effect of the material’s porous structure and particle-induced crystallization on the bulk mechanical property. The dispersion of NDs in the UHMWPE matrix can significantly promote the crystallinity of the HPC specimens, even with a porous structure. However, the bulk hardness does not reveal this improvement in crystal microstructure.