Fabrication and characterization of bone china using synthetic bone powder as raw materials

The synthetic bone powder was studied as a raw materials for bone china, completely replacing natural bone ash raw materials. The physical and thermal properties of samples obtained by the two bone powders were tested and comparatively studied. Performance tests included pyroplastic deformation, flexural strength, bulk density, sintering shrinkage, water absorption, transmittance, thermal expansion coefficient and the thermal shock resistance. The phase composition and morphology were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The results indicated that using synthetic bone powder could shorten the preparation time, reduce the sintering temperature and result in high-quality bone china. The pyroplastic deformation decreased from 9.14% to 7.92%, the three-point flexural strength increased from 123 MPa to 191 MPa, the light transmittance (at a 2-mm thickness) increased from 6.7% to 11.2%, the thermal expansion coefficient decreased from 8.24×10−6 °C−1 to 7.69×10−6 °C−1, and the thermal shock resistance increased from 140 °C to 180 °C. A continuous interface layer without cracks was produced by using the synthetic bone powder.