A synthesis route to nanoparticle dicalcium silicate for biomaterials research

Dicalcium silicate (Ca(2)SiO(4)) has been reported as an interesting candidate for biomaterials use due to its attractive bioactive properties. Here, we report on how dicalcium silicate was prepared by a sol-gel route using calcium nitrate tetrahydrate and tetraorthosilicate as the precursors chemicals for CaO and SiO(2), respectively. The synthesized powders were characterized using thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). High purity dicalcium silicate at a CaO/SiO(2) molar ratio of 2: 1 could be formed by the sol-gel method without a washing process and was then calcined at 800 degrees C. The effects of the molar ratio of CaO/SiO(2), the washing process, and the calcination temperature have been shown to affect the purity, the formation, and the particle size of the nanoparticles, which have been investigated and discussed. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res Part B: Appl Biomater 99B: 230-238, 2011.