Physical and Mechanical Properties of Hydroxyapatite-Polyethylene Glycol Nanocomposites
Hartatiek*, Lisdiana Ika Noerjannah, Nur Zaidatur Rohmah, Yudyanto
Department of Physics, Faculty of Mathematics and Science, Universitas Negeri Malang 65145 Malang, Indonesia
Abstract
The excellent properties of hydroxyapatite (Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) have attracted the interest of researchers and engineers for various applications. Instead of using expensive commercial raw materials, we introduced the use of natural minerals for hydroxyapatite synthesis, precisely the calcite rock from Jember, Indonesia. Our study confirmed that the calcium content in the calcite rock was 98.36%. As a bone substitution compound, hydroxyapatite needs to be composited with polymeric materials, such as polyethylene glycol to improve its mechanical properties. The XRD test results showed that variations in the composition of polyethylene glycol affect diffraction peak intensities, lattice parameters, and grain size of crystalline hydroxyapatite-polyethylene glycol nanocomposites. The density value of the nanocomposites increases with the addition of polyethylene glycol up to 4.29 g/cm3. In addition, the value of hardness also increases with the addition of polyethylene glycol up to 78.50 HVN.
Keywords: hydroxyapatite, polyethylene glycol, nanocomposite, density, hardness
Topic: Functional Materials