Effects of TiO2, ZrO2 and Al2O3 dopants on the compressive strength of tricalcium phosphate

Tricalcium phosphate (TCP) powders synthesised using the Ca(NO3)2 and Ca(OH)2 routes were doped with TiO2, ZrO2 and Al2O3 in order to increase their compressive strength. An ultimate compressive strength (UCS) of 255 +/- 6 MPa was achieved for approximately 10 vol% TiO2 doping compared to 30 +/- 3 MPa for an un-doped control processed and tested in the same manner. Higher levels of TiO2 doping resulted in smaller increases in UCS with 30 and 50 vol% achieving 213 +/- 9 and 178 +/- 15 MPa, respectively. Very small amounts of Al2O3 doping (< 0.5 vol%) also resulted in a stronger materials. However, under the processing conditions employed, higher levels of Al2O3 and ZrO2 doping resulted in no beneficial effect on the UCS. Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) was used as binding agent to facilitate processing. As expected, higher levels of PVA were associated with smaller increases in UCS. Powders synthesised using the Ca(OH)2 route had smaller particle size and resulted in larger increases in UCS compared to the Ca(NO3)2-synthesised powders. Although some powders contained alpha and beta-TCP phases, no other calcium phosphate, CaO, CaTiO3 or CaZrO3 phases were detected. In conclusion, a significant increase in the UCS of TCP was achieved by doping with approximately 10 vol% TiO2 which is expected to have little or no effect on the bioactivity or bioresorbability of the material.