Effect of Ce and Er doping on crystal morphology and mechanical properties of dental restoration material Li2O-Al2O3-SiO2 glass ceramics

This study is to investigate the effect of Ce and Er doping on the mechanical properties of Li ₂O-Al ₂O ₃-SiO ₂ system glass-ceramics. Orthogonal test was used to explore the formulation of dental lithium disilicate glass-ceramics with the best mechanical properties. On this basis, rare earth elements Ce and Er were doped to investigate the effect of doping on the crystal morphology and mechanical properties of glass-ceramics, and the chemical stability of the doped samples was evaluated. Through many experiments, the optimal raw material composition for preparing Li ₂O-Al ₂O ₃-SiO ₂ glass-ceramics was determined as follows: Li:Si 76:24, NH ₄H ₂PO ₄ 3%, Al ₂O ₃ 10%, and K ₂CO ₃ 3%, The highest hardness is 672 MPa and the highest fracture toughness is 306 MPa. The doping results show that a certain amount of Ce or Er on the surface can make the matrix glass grow into radial flake or lamellar crystals. Radial crystals can improve the fracture toughness of glass-ceramics, but reduce its hardness. The hardness of laminated crystal glass ceramics increases, but the bending strength decreases.