ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Enhancing the properties of bone China ceramics by treatment with microporous SiO₂ nanoparticles

Tarek M. Abou Elmaaty, Khaled Sayed-Ahmed, Mohamed M. El Gohari, and Rokaya Noaman

Department of Material Art, Galala University, Galala, Egypt

E-mail: tasaid@gu.edu.eg

Received: 12 November 2021  Accepted: 21 May 2022

Abstract:

In this study, microporous silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO₂–NPs) were used to improve the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of bone China ceramics. Microporous SiO₂–NPs were prepared economically from sodium metasilicate (SMS) as a precursor with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a surfactant at different concentrations. The prepared SiO₂–NPs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy to confirm the formation of microporous SiO₂–NPs. The optimum concentrations of the precursor and surfactant used in the SiO₂–NPs synthesis were set to be 1.5% and 2 g/200 ml, with a size range of 7–96 nm. SiO₂–NPs prepared at the optimum concentrations were incorporated into bone China at different concentrations to evaluate their effect on flexural strength and elasticity. The bone China prepared using 1% SiO₂–NPs (B₁) had the highest flexural strength and Young's modulus values. Sample characteristics, including self-cleaning, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, bulk density (BD), apparent porosity (AP), and water absorption (WA), were investigated. The results revealed outstanding characteristic such as self-cleaning ability, remarkable increase in AP and WA, and a decrease in BD.

Keywords: Bone China; Ceramics; Microporous silicon dioxide nanoparticles; Physical properties; Mechanical properties

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-022-02296-9

Chemical Papers 76 (9) 5879–5891 (2022)