Novel pore-forming agent to prepare of mesoporous bioactive glass using one-step spray pyrolysis

Abstract Bioactive glass (BG) is a potential biomaterial for bone implants and drug carriers because it has excellent bioactivity and forms a hydroxyl apatite (HA) layer when immersed in body fluid. Much attention has been focused on increasing the bioactivity of BG. One product of these studies is mesoporous bioactive glass (MBG), which has a high specific surface. The common pore-forming agents of MBG are surfactants; however, surfactants present the serious problems of micelle aggregation and carbon contamination. To overcome these problems, hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) has been used as a pore-forming agent to replace the traditional surfactants. In this study, 0, 25, 40, and 50 vol% H2O2-treated MBG powders were synthesized using spray pyrolysis (SP). The highest specific surface area of SP-derived MBG (~ 500 m2 / g) reported to date was thus achieved. The corresponding formation mechanisms are also discussed.