Effect of sintering temperature on the properties of porous alumina synthesized through soft combustion for biomedical application

Abstract

This paper describes the effects of sintering temperature on porous structure of alumina produced by using different types of fuels (urea and glycine) through a soft combustion reaction. In the present work, the effect of sintering temperature on alumina properties is studied. The porous alumina which is sintered at various temperatures (1250°C, 1350°C, 1400°C and 1500°C) is compared to determine the optimum properties that can be applied on implant applications. Phase identification through X-Ray Diffraction (XRD) shows an alpha alumina phase is obtained in all samples. X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) result supports the obtaining phase. Mechanical property is determined using Modulus of Rapture (MOR) which shows that synthesized porous alumina sintered at 1500°C shows higher flexural strength (18.37 MPa) compare to other temperature. However, as the application aims for the biomedical implant, the porous structure of synthesized alumina is another factor to be considered as if it structured well for the application. Through the morphology observation using Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FESEM) on sintered bodies, overall, the result shows that the porous structure of alumina sintered at lower than 1500!C shows better structure in terms of to be applied in implant.