Preparation and characterization of TiO2 and Si-doped octacalcium phosphate composite coatings on zirconia ceramics (Y-TZP) for dental implant applications

Abstract In order to prevent the low temperature degradation and improve the bioactivity of zirconia ceramic implants, TiO 2 and Si-doped octacalcium phosphate composite coating was prepared on zirconia substrate. The preventive effect on low temperature degradation and surface morphology of the TiO 2 layer were studied. Meanwhile, the structure and property changes of the bioactive coating after doping Si were discussed. The results indicate that the dense TiO 2 layer, in spite of some microcracks, inhibited the direct contact of the water vapor with the sample's surface and thus prevented the low temperature degradation of zirconia substrates. The acceleration aging test shows that the ratio of the monoclinic phase transition decreased from 10% for the original zirconia substrate to 4% for the TiO 2 -coated substrate. As to the Si-doped octacalcium phosphate coating prepared by biomimetic method, the main phase composition of the coating was octacalcium phosphate. The morphology of the coating was lamellar-like, and the surface was uniform and continuous with no cracks being observed. It is suggested that Si was added into the coating both through substituting for PO 4 3− and doping as NaSiO 3 .