Phase transformation and mechanical properties of new bioactive glass-ceramics derived from CaO-P2O5-Na2O-B2O3-SiO2 glass system.

This work investigates the role of sintering temperature on bioactive glass-ceramics derived from the new composition CaO-P2O5-Na2O-B2O3-SiO2 glass system. The sintering behaviour of the samples' physical, structural, and mechanical properties is highlighted in this study. The experimental results indicated that the sintering process improved the crystallization and hardness of the final product. Results from XRD and FTIR showed the existence of carbonate apatite, pseudo-wollastonite, and wollastonite phases. From the results, the bioglass-ceramics sintered at 700 °C obtained the highest densification and optimum mechanical results. It had the value of 5.34 ± 0.21 GPa regarding microhardness and 2.99 ± 0.24 MPa m1/2 concerning fracture toughness, which falls in the range of the human enamel. Also, the sintered samples maintained their bioactivity and biodegradability after being tested in the PBS medium. The bioactivity does not affect but slows down the apatite formation rate. Overall results promoted the novel bioglass-ceramics as a candidate material for dental application.

Effects of Particle Size on the Dielectric, Mechanical, and Thermal Properties of Recycled Borosilicate Glass-Filled PTFE Microwave Substrates.

Low dielectric loss and low-cost recycled borosilicate (BRS) glass-reinforced polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) composites were fabricated for microwave substrate applications. The composites were prepared through a dry powder processing technique by dispersing different micron sizes (25 µm, 45 µm, 63 µm, 90 µm, and 106 µm) of the recycled BRS filler in the PTFE matrix. The effect of the filler sizes on the composites' thermal, mechanical, and dielectric properties was studied. The dielectric properties of the composites were characterised in the frequency range of 1-12 GHz using an open-ended coaxial probe (OCP) connected to a vector network analyser (VNA). XRD patterns confirmed the phase formation of PTFE and recycled BRS glass. The scanning electron microscope also showed good filler dispersion at larger filler particle sizes. In addition, the composites' coefficient of thermal expansion and tensile strength decreased from 12.93 MPa and 64.86 ppm/°C to 7.12 MPa and 55.77 ppm/°C when the filler size is reduced from 106 µm to 25 µm. However, moisture absorption and density of the composites increased from 0.01% and 2.17 g/cm3 to 0.04% and 2.21 g/cm3. The decrement in filler size from 106 µm to 25 µm also increased the mean dielectric constant and loss tangent of the composites from 2.07 and 0.0010 to 2.18 and 0.0011, respectively, while it reduced the mean signal transmission speed from 2.088 × 108 m/s to 2.031 × 108 m/s. The presented results showed that PTFE/recycled BRS composite exhibited comparable characteristics with commercial high-frequency laminates.

Incorporation of Hydroxyapatite into Glass Ionomer Cement (GIC) Formulated Based on Alumino-Silicate-Fluoride Glass Ceramics from Waste Materials.

Glass ionomer cement (GIC) is a well-known restorative material applied in dentistry. The present work aims to study the effect of hydroxyapatite (HA) addition into GIC based on physical, mechanical and structural properties. The utilization of waste materials namely clam shell (CS) and soda lime silica (SLS) glass as replacements for the respective CaO and SiO2 sources in the fabrication of alumino-silicate-fluoride (ASF) glass ceramics powder. GIC was formulated based on ASF glass ceramics, polyacrylic acid (PAA) and deionized water, while 1 wt.% of HA powder was added to enhance the properties of the cement samples. The cement samples were subjected to four different ageing times before being analyzed. In this study, the addition of HA caused an increment in density and compressive strength results along with ageing time. Besides, X-ray Diffraction (XRD) revealed the formation of fluorohydroxyapatite (FHA) phase in HA-added GIC samples and it was confirmed by Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) analysis which detected OH‒F vibration mode. In addition, needle-like and agglomeration of spherical shapes owned by apatite crystals were observed from Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy (FESEM). Based on Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis, the detection of chemical elements in the cement samples were originated from chemical compounds used in the preparation of glass ceramics powder and also the polyacid utilized in initiating the reaction of GIC.

Sustainable Production of Arecanut Husk Ash as Potential Silica Replacement for Synthesis of Silicate-Based Glass-Ceramics Materials.

Arecanut husk (AH) was selected as a material for silica replacement in the synthesis process of glass-ceramics zinc silicate and also the fact that it has no traditional use and often being dumped and results in environmental issues. The process of pyrolysis was carried out at temperature 700 °C and above based on thermogravimetric analysis to produce arecanut husk ash (AHA). The average purity of the silica content in AHA ranged from 29.17% to 45.43%. Furthermore, zinc oxide was introduced to AHA and zinc silicate started to form at sintering temperature 700 °C and showed increased diffraction intensity upon higher sintering temperature of 600 °C to 1000 °C based on X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The grain sizes of the zinc silicate increased from 1011 nm to 3518 nm based on the morphological studies carried out by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). In addition, the optical band gap of the sample was measured to be in the range from 2.410 eV to 2.697 eV after sintering temperature. From the data, it is believed that a cleaner production of low-cost zinc silicate can be achieved by using arecanut husk and have the potential to be used as phosphors materials.

Synergistic Effects of Pr6O11 and Co3O4 on Electrical and Microstructure Features of ZnO-BaTiO3 Varistor Ceramics.

This paper investigated the effects of Pr6O11 and Co3O4 on the electrical properties of ZnO-BaTiO3 varistor ceramics. The Pr6O11 doping has a notable influence on the characteristics of the nonlinear coefficient, varistor voltage, and leakage current where the values varied from 2.29 to 2.69, 12.36 to 68.36 V/mm and 599.33 to 548.16 µA/cm2, respectively. The nonlinear varistor coefficient of 5.50 to 7.15 and the varistor voltage of 7.38 to 8.10 V/mm was also influenced by the use of Co3O4 as a dopant. When the amount of Co3O4 was above 0.5 wt.%, the leakage current increased from 202.41 to 302.71 µA/cm2. The varistor ceramics with 1.5 wt.% Pr6O11 shows good nonlinear electrical performance at higher breakdown voltage and reduced the leakage current of the ceramic materials. Besides, the varistor sample that was doped with 0.5 wt.% Co3O4 was able to enhance the nonlinear electrical properties at low breakdown voltage with a smaller value of leakage current.

Effects of Sintering Temperature Variation on Synthesis of Glass-Ceramic Phosphor Using Rice Husk Ash as Silica Source.

In this study, the authors attempted to propose the very first study on fabrication and characterization of zinc-boro-silicate (ZBS) glass-ceramics derived from the ternary zinc-boro-silicate (ZnO)0.65(B2O3)0.15(RHA)0.2 glass system through a conventional melt-quenching method by incorporating rice husk ash (RHA) as the silica (SiO2) source, followed by a sintering process. Optimization of sintering condition has densified the sintered samples while embedded beta willemite (ß-Zn2SiO4) and alpha willemite (α-Zn2SiO4) were proven in X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) has shown the distribution of willemite crystals in rhombohedral shape crystals and successfully form closely-packed grains due to intense crystallization. The photoluminescence (PL) spectra of all sintered ZBS glasses presented various emission peaks at 425, 463, 487, 531, and 643 nm corresponded to violet, blue, green, and red emission, respectively. The correlation between the densification, phase transformation, microstructure, and photoluminescence of Zn2SiO4 glass-ceramic phosphor is discussed in detail.

Effects of Calcination Holding Time on Properties of Wide Band Gap Willemite Semiconductor Nanoparticles by the Polymer Thermal Treatment Method.

Willemite is a wide band gap semiconductor used in modern day technology for optoelectronics application. In this study, a new simple technique with less energy consumption is proposed. Willemite nanoparticles (NPs) were produced via a water-based solution consisting of a metallic precursor, polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and underwent a calcination process at 900 °C for several holding times between 1-4 h. The FT-IR and Raman spectra indicated the presence of metal oxide bands as well as the effective removal of PVP. The degree of the crystallization and formation of the NPs were determined by XRD. The mean crystallite size of the NPs was between 18.23-27.40 nm. The morphology, particle shape and size distribution were viewed with HR-TEM and FESEM analysis. The willemite NPs aggregate from the smaller to larger particles with an increase in calcination holding time from 1-4 h with the sizes ranging between 19.74-29.71 nm. The energy values obtained from the experimental band gap decreased with increasing the holding time over the range of 5.39 eV at 1 h to at 5.27 at 4 h. These values match well with band gap obtained from the Mott and Davis model for direct transition. The findings in this study are very promising and can justify the use of these novel materials as a potential candidate for green luminescent optoelectronic applications.

Manganese modified structural and optical properties of zinc soda lime silica glasses.

A series of MnO-doped zinc soda lime silica glass systems was prepared by a conventional melt and quenching technique. In this study, the x-ray diffraction analysis was applied to confirm the amorphous nature of the glasses. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy shows the glass network consists of MnO4, SiO4, and ZnO4 units as basic structural units. The glass samples under field emission scanning electron microscopy observation demonstrated irregularity in shape and size with glassy phase-like structure. The optical absorption studies revealed that the optical bandgap (Eopt) values decrease with an increase of MnO content. Through the results of various measurements, the doping of MnO in the glass matrix had effects on the performance of the glasses and significantly improved the properties of the glass sample as a potential host for phosphor material.

Effect of ZnO on the physical properties and optical band gap of soda lime silicate glass.

This manuscript reports on the physical properties and optical band gap of five samples of soda lime silicate (SLS) glass combined with zinc oxide (ZnO) that were prepared by a melting and quenching process. To understand the role of ZnO in this glass structure, the density, molar volume and optical band gaps were investigated. The density and absorption spectra in the Ultra-Violet-Visible (UV-Visible) region were recorded at room temperature. The results show that the densities of the glass samples increased as the ZnO weight percentage increased. The molar volume of the glasses shows the same trend as the density: the molar volume increased as the ZnO content increased. The optical band gaps were calculated from the absorption edge, and it was found that the optical band gap decreased from 3.20 to 2.32 eV as the ZnO concentration increased.