On the microstructure of biocomposites sintered from Ti, HA and bioactive glass

Sintering reactions and fine structures of the biocomposites prepared from powder mixtures of titanium (α-Ti), hydroxyapatite (HA) and bioactive glass (BG) (SiO2-CaO-P2O5-B2O3-MgO-TiO2-CaF2) were investigated by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The results showed that complex reactions among the starting materials mainly depended on the initial Ti/HA ratios as well as the sintering temperatures. And the reaction could be expressed by the following illustrative equation: Ti+Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2→CaTiO3+CaO+TixPy+(Ti2O)+(Ca4P2O9)+H2O.