Effect of aging temperature on the structure, pore morphology and bioactivity of new sol-gel synthesized bioglass

A 92S6 glass with a composition in the ternary system SiO2-CaO-P2O5 was prepared by sol-gel method. Material was synthesized at temperatures ranging from 20 to 60 °C for 24 h using C16TMABr (C19H42BrN) as surfactant. Then properties of these synthesized glasses were investigated. The structure, morphology and textural properties were studied by means of X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), analysis of nitrogen adsorption/desorption isotherms (BET and BJH methods), and by scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). In vitro glasses bioactivity was evaluated by soaking them in simulated body fluid. The resulting solutions were analyzed by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Results indicate that bioactivity increased with synthesis temperature. This result is principally related to differences in textural properties.