The Effect of Microwave Sintering on the Microstructure and Properties of Calcium Phosphate Ceramic

Despite good ability to improved biological affinity and activity of calcium phosphate (CP) ceramic to the surrounding host tissue when implanted, CP ceramic is capable to encourage direct bond with bone as their chemical compositions are similar to the mineral phase of bone. However, the low mechanical property of CP ceramic restricts use in load-bearing applications. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to fabricate dense CP ceramic via used of microwave sintering analyze the microstructure and mechanical properties comparison to conventional ceramic sintering. The sintered specimens were characterized by their surface microstructure, density measurement and hardness test. The result demonstrated that the density and hardness values of sintered CP ceramic specimens by microwave sintering were higher than conventional sintering. The microstructures of CP ceramic microwave sintered specimens show also better microstructures (analyzed by FESEM technique), with fines grain size and the present of apatite layer growth on the surface when examined with SBF solution. It can be concluded that the microwave sintering enhanced better microstructure and mechanical properties of CP ceramic.