Abstract
The sinterability of β-TCP powders doped with alkali metal or alkali earth metal ions by hot-pressing and the effect of the metal ions on the mechanical properties of hot-pressed β-TCP were investigated. Hot-pressed β-TCP doped with various amount of metal ions achieved a relative density of more than 96.7%. Undoped β-TCP showed a bending strength of about 110 MPa. Bending strength of β-TCP doped with Mg2+ ion up to 10 mol%was more than 140 MPa, especiallyβ-TCP doped with 8 mol% of Mg2+ ion showed a bending strength of 160 MPa. On the other hand, bending strength of β-TCP doped with K+ ion gradually decreased from 135 to 85 MPa with increasing the amount of K+ ion. The difference in bending strength among sintered β-TCP doped with various metal ions could be explained by the change in the unit cell volume, namely the change in theoretical density, with the addition of metal ion.
