Improvement of mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite composites reinforced with i-Al₆₄Cu₂₃Fe₁₃ quasicrystal

Abstract

Mechanical behavior of hydroxyapatite-based composites (HAp) was studied as a function of the reinforcement concentration of the quasicrystalline (QC) Al64Cu23Fe13 alloy. The synthesis of the HAp matrix was carried out by sol-gel method, while the synthesis of the QC was performed by an arc furnace with a subsequent thermal treatment. The composites were made by powder metallurgy and cold compacted to form test pieces that were sintered with a constant flow of argon. The materials were characterized using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy. The study of mechanical strength was carried through compression tests. The biocompatibility of the composites was tested using an in-vitro cytotoxicity assay. The mechanical resistance of HAp/QC composites increased with the concentration of quasicrystalline reinforcement. Young’s modulus and compressive strength increased in 43% and 21%, respectively, with a 10 wt% QC reinforcement, which demonstrates an hybrid behaviour of the composite due to the inclusion of reinforcing particles in the pores of the matrix. This composite did not show cytotoxicity at any of the QC concentrations. A fabrication route is proposed as a fast, easy and high efficiency alternative for applications in the biomedical industry because of its high scalability potential.

Calcium Orthophosphate (CaPO4) Containing Composites for Biomedical Applications: Formulations, Properties, and Applications

“…Silver ions integrated into HA particles can be reduced by γ-irradiation to create Ag nanoparticle/HA biocomposites [670]. More complicated formulations, such as Ag/Ag 3 PO 4 /BCP (HA + β-TCP) [1035], Ti6Al4V/HA/TiB 2 [1030], HA/i-Al 64 Cu 23 Fe 13 quasicrystals [1029], and CaSiO 3 /HA reinforced with a Ti6Al4V alloy [1039], were prepared as well.…”

Protection of AA2024 alloy against wear and corrosion by HVAF sprayed AlCuFe coating

“…The quasicrystalline icosahedral ψ-phase in the Al-Cu-Fe system is known to be stable under the temperature of ∼800°C [10][11][12] which is higher than the operating temperature of Al-based alloys. Thus, a magnetron sputtering [16], electron beam (EB) PVD technique [17,18], or plasma spraying [19][20][21][22][23][24] were used to produce the QC coatings. It was shown that their hardness and wear resistance values are comparable to or even higher than that of the natural composites containing QC particles distributed in the bcc β-phase [25][26][27][28][29], multi-phase alloys, or artificial Al-based composite layers containing QC particles [30][31][32].…”