Ceramics-Silikáty 59 (1) 1-5 (2015)

MECHANICAL ALLOYING SYNTHESIS OF FORSTERITE-DIOPSIDE NANOCOMPOSITE POWDER FOR USING IN TISSUE ENGINEERING

Sadeghzade S., Emadi R., Ghomi H.

In present study the pure forsterite-diopside nanocomposite powder was successfully synthesized by the economical method of mechanical alloying and subsequence sintering, for the first time. The starting economical materials were talc (Mg₃Si₄H₂O₁₂), magnesium carbonate (MgCO₃) and calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) powders. The prepared powder was characterized by thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The results showed preparation of forsterite- diopside nanocomposite powder after 10 h mechanical alloying and sintering at 1200°C for 1 h. The powder crystallite sizes and agglomerated particle sizes were measured about 73 ± 4 nm and 0.3 - 4 μm, respectively. Absence of enstatite that causes a reduction in mechanical and bioactivity properties of forsterite ceramic, is an important feature of produced powder.

Keywords: Forsterite, Diopside, Mechanical alloying, Nanocomposite, Bioceramics