Preparation of dense β-CaSiO3 ceramic with high mechanical strength and HAp formation ability in simulated body fluid

In present study, dense CaSiO3 (CS) ceramics have been fabricated through spark plasma sintering (SPS) technique using β-CS powder prepared by chemical precipitation method. The β-CS ceramic sintered at 950 °C has a relative density of about 95% and shows a fine microstructure with an average grain size of 0.6 μm, thus expresses good bending strength of about 294 MPa. The simulated body fluid (SBF) immersion tests show that the dense β-CS ceramic has a high hydroxyapatite (HAp) formation rate on its surface. The HAp layer formed on the CS ceramic surface has a granular structure consisting of silkworm-like HAp grains, and the thickness of HAp and Si-rich layer are 70 and 120 μm, respectively.