Si-TCP synthesized from Mg-free reagents employed as calcium phosphate cement

The influence of silicon doping on calcium phosphate cement were explored in this work. α-TCP and Si-α-TCP were prepared by solid state reaction employing Mg-free CaHPO4, CaCO3 and CaSiO3 as precursors. It was possible to obtain TCP powders with low contents of β phase as contaminant. Cement liquid phase was an aqueous solution containing 2.5 wt. (%) of Na2HPO4 and 1.5 wt. (%) of citric acid. The liquid-to-powder ratio was 0.6 mL.g-1. Chemical, physical and mechanical properties of the cement samples were determined by means of XRD, FTIR, XRF, compressive strength and SEM. The calcium phosphate cements obtained achieved satisfactory properties; however, Si-α-TCP presented a decrease on the rate of setting reaction.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)INCT-BiofabrisUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)Universidade Estadual de Campinas Faculdade de Engenharia MecânicaUNIFESPSciEL