Gel-derived SiO2–CaO–Na2O–P2O5 bioactive powders: Synthesis and in vitro bioactivity

In the present work, bioactive powders of the quaternary SiO2–CaO–Na2O–P2O5 system were synthesized by means of a sol–gel route. In their synthesis, tetraethoxysilane (Si(OC2H5)4), calcium nitrate tetrahydrate (Ca(NO3)2∙ 4H2O) and sodium nitrate (NaNO3) were chosen as precursors of SiO2, CaO and Na2O, respectively. For P2O5, two different precursors were tested: triethylphosphate (OP(OC2H5)3) and phosphoric acid (H3PO4). The gels were then converted into ceramic powders by heat treatments in the temperature range 700–1000 °C. The resulting materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) and in vitro bioactivity in acellular simulated body fluid (SBF). During the conversion of the gels into ceramics the mineralization behavior of the two sets of samples was different, but all the resulting materials were bioactive. The samples prepared using phosphoric acid exhibited the best in vitro bioactivity. This result was attributed to the preferential formation of bioactive sodium calcium silicate Na2Ca2Si3O9 crystals, especially in the samples submitted to heat treatments at 700 and 800 °C, which could not be observed in the samples prepared using triethylphosphate.