Scientific Reports (Jan 2021)

Tribo-mechanical properties evaluation of HA/TiO2/CNT nanocomposite

  • Erfan Zalnezhad,
  • F. Musharavati,
  • Tianyi Chen,
  • Fadi Jaber,
  • Kaan Uzun,
  • Muhammad E. H. Chowdhury,
  • Amith Khandakar,
  • Junxing Liu,
  • S. Bae

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-81187-7
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 15

Abstract

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Abstract In this study, a combination of reverse microemulsion and hydrothermal techniques were used to synthesize HA. A hydrothermal method was used to synthesize HA/TiO2/CNT nanocomposite powders. Cold and hot isostatic pressing techniques were used to fabricate tablet-shaped samples. To investigate the biocompatibility and tribo-mechanical properties of HA/TiO2 and HA/TiO2/CNTs, four samples were prepared with different percentages of CNTs, namely, HA/TiO2 (S0), HA/TiO2/CNT (S1.0), HA/TiO2/CNT (S2.0), and HA/TiO2/CNT (S3.0). The microstructure and morphology of the HA/TiO2/CNTs were characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Hardness test results show that S3.0 displayed the highest surface hardness (285 HV) compared to other samples. The wear rate of HA/TiO2/CNT with the highest CNT content showed a decrease compared with those of the other samples. The results from nanoindentation tests showed that Young’s modulus of the S3.0 sample was 58.1% greater than that of the S0 sample. Furthermore, the human MDA-MB-231 cell line demonstrated good binding to the surface of the samples in the in-vitro biocompatibility evaluation of the HA/TiO2/CNT composites.