Enhancing the properties of bone China ceramics by treatment with microporous SiO2 nanoparticles

In this study, microporous silicon dioxide nanoparticles (SiO2-NPs) were used to improve the physical, chemical, and mechanical properties of bone China ceramics. Microporous SiO2-NPs were prepared economically from sodium metasilicate (SMS) as a precursor with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as a surfactant at different concentrations. The prepared SiO2-NPs were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and Raman spectroscopy to confirm the formation of microporous SiO2-NPs. The optimum concentrations of the precursor and surfactant used in the SiO2-NPs synthesis were set to be 1.5% and 2 g/200 ml, with a size range of 7-96 nm. SiO2-NPs prepared at the optimum concentrations were incorporated into bone China at different concentrations to evaluate their effect on flexural strength and elasticity. The bone China prepared using 1% SiO2-NPs (B-1) had the highest flexural strength and Young's modulus values. Sample characteristics, including self-cleaning, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, bulk density (BD), apparent porosity (AP), and water absorption (WA), were investigated. The results revealed outstanding characteristic such as self-cleaning ability, remarkable increase in AP and WA, and a decrease in BD.