Applied Surface Science, Vol.264, 105-110, 2013
Effect of surfactant concentration on characteristics of mesoporous bioactive glass prepared by evaporation induced self-assembly process
Mesoporous bioactive glasses were prepared by the evaporation-induced self-assembly method. The main objective of the present study is to determine the effect of surfactant concentration on the synthesis of SiO2-CaO-P2O5 mesoporous bioactive glasses; the characterization techniques used include X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and nitrogen adsorption and desorption isotherms. The results show that the specific surface area initially increased with increasing surfactant concentrations in the range of 2.1-9.1 wt% and significantly decreased from 328.7 to 204.0 m(2)/g in the concentration range of 9.1-12.5 wt%. For texture evaluation, the selected area electron diffraction patterns of the mesoporous bioactive glass precursor gels (9.1 wt% F127) calcined at different temperatures were analyzed; these patterns support the notion that some glassy structures in bioactive glasses become crystalline following heat treatment. The scanning electron microscopy images and X-ray diffraction patterns obtained agree with the inductively coupled plasma with atomic emission spectroscopy results as the mesoporous bioactive glasses can induce the formation of an apatite-like layer on their surface in SBF, even after short soaking periods. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.