Structural and Mechanical Properties of Porous Al2O3-Fap-TiO2 Composite as a Promising Material for Bone Implants

Porous Al2O3-Fap-TiO2 composite ceramics were produced by using polyvinyl butyral as pore-forming agent. A porosity of 50–53% was achieved after sintering at 1500°C for time ranges between 1 h and 5 h. The pores were shown to be interconnected with sizes ranging between 43 µm and 280 µm. The XRD investigation of the porous bodies indicated the decomposition of fluorapatite into tricalcium phosphate. The decomposition was more evident for the highly porous samples. The compressive strength of the composites improved to reach 14 MPa to 18 MPa. Such strength values would be higher than those of human cancellous bone, which would be made of the porous Al2O3-Fap-TiO2 composite produced in this study, a promising material for bone implants.