Production of bioactive glass-ceramic in the system SiO₂-CaO-P₂O₅-Na₂O by sintering

Bioglass-ceramic in the system SiO₂-CaO-P₂O₅-Na₂O was produced by the sintering technique. A glass sample was produced by the classical melting method. Differential thermal analyses (DTA) measurements were applied to the glass sample to determine the nucleation and crystallization temperatures. Glass powders were cold pressed and then crystallized by suitable nucleation and crystal growth heat treatments on the basis of DTA results. To investigate the morphology of the resultant microstructure, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were conducted to the produced bioglassceramic sample. XRD patterns of the sample showed clearly that the crystalline phases were hydroxyapatite (HA) and sodium calcium silicate. The HA crystallites in the microstructure of the bioglass-ceramic were observed at the SEM micrographs of the sample. The mechanical, physical and chemical properties of the bioglass-ceramic samples were also determined. It was found that the physical, chemical and mechanical properties of the bioglass-ceramic samples depend on the amount of crystalline phase.