Zhang L, Zhang C, Ji Y, et al. Effects of Z-value on physicochemical and biological properties of β-SiAlONs ceramics[J]. Ceramics International, 2021.

原文：https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272884221028005

Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of different Z-values on the physical, chemical, and biological properties of β-SiAlON ceramics. Increasing the Z-value of the β-Si3N4solid solution's main phase resulted in the replacement of Si–N bonds with Al–O bonds. The number of columnar crystals decreased, bulk density increased, and porosity decreased, thus transforming the fine-particle microstructure of β-Si3N4into the columnar structure of β-SiAlON. The compressive strength increased, which facilitated sintering at 1500 °C without sintering auxiliaries. H+ and OH− ions in deionized water broke the covalent bonds on the β-SiAlON surface, thereby forming new Si–OH, Al–OH, and N–H bonds on the β-SiAlON surface and producing SiO44−, AlO2−, and NH4+ groups in the solution. Increasing the soaking time changed the compositions of ionized H+ and OH− ions, thus increasing the pH. MC3T3-E1 cells were cultured on the β-SiAlON surface, and it was observed that the increase in the Z-value of β-SiAlON had no influence on cell adhesion and spreading, but it may slightly suppress cell proliferation at high Z-values. At low Z-values, the low AlO2− concentration helps promote osteogenic differentiation and mineralized nodule formation. Thus, β-SiAlON ceramics possess excellent physical, chemical, and biological properties and are considered excellent bone-repairing materials.

Keywords

Bone repairβ-SiAlON ceramicsOsteogenesisSilicon nitride