Sains Malaysiana, 2018;47:2141-2149.

Abstract

Bioactive composites consist of pseudowollastonite and mullite synthesized from natural resources was developed for
bone implant applications. To realize such applications, a mechanical test of these composites and in vitro bioactivity in
SBF solution were studied. The present paper reports pseudowollastonite synthesized from the rice husk ash and limestone
reinforced with 10, 20 and 30 wt. % of mullite. Influence of sintering temperature, phase composition, morphology towards
mechanical properties of various pseudowollastonite-mullite (PSW-M) composites was examined prior to the bioactivity
test. It was found that pseudowollastonite with the addition of 20 wt. % of mullite sintered at 1150°C gave the best result
for diametral tensile strength (DTS) and hardness with the value of 8.8 ± 0.15 MPa and 3.79 ± 0.13 GPa, respectively.
The obvious increment in the mechanical strength was due to the formation of liquid phase CaAl2
O3
during sintering at
1150°C. In addition, the formation of fibrous apatite (HA) layer of amorphous calcium phosphate (ACP) with Ca/P ratio
1.8 on PSW20M sample confirmed the good bioactivity of the composite.