TWO-STEPSINTERING OF DENSE, NANOSTRUCTURAL CALCIUM TITANATE

This paper investigates a method for preparing the nanocrystalline calcium titanate dense ceramic via sintering the calcium titanate nanopowder. The two-step sintering (TSS) method has been applied to suppress the accelerated grain growth of calcium titanate nanopowder compacts. The effect of sintering parameters on the mechanical properties and microstructure characteristics of the calcium titanate ceramic were studied. Resultsverified the applicability of this method to suppress the final stage of grain growth in the system. The grain size of the high density compacts(-98%TD) of the calcium titanate was 60-70 nm. The optimal hardness(1100 HV) of the prepared nanocrystalline calcium titanate were found to be higher than those of the currently available hudroxyapatite bioceramics. It was concluded that the two-step sintering method can be used to fabricate improved calcium titanate dense ceramics with desired bioactivity and mechanical properties that might besuitable for hard tissue repair and biomedical applications.

Keywords:

ceramic , nanomaterials , sintering , mechanical properties