Carbon fiber composites are promising candidates for
orthopedic
implant applications, which calls for a combination of high mechanical
strength and outstanding biotribological properties. In this work,
hydroxyapatite nanobelts-carbon nanotubes (HN) were designed and constructed
into carbon fiber–anhydrous dicalcium phosphate (DCPA)–epoxy
composites (CDE) for simultaneously optimizing the mechanical and
biotribological properties via the combined methods of pulse electrochemical
deposition and injected chemical vapor deposition. HN provides more
nucleation sites for the growth of DCPA and favors the infiltration
of epoxy. In addition, HN optimizes the fiber/matrix interface by
generating strong interfacial mechanical interlocking. Owing to the
synergism of a strongly bound HN, the mechanical and biotribological
properties of CDE have demonstrated significant improvement. The tensile
strength and elastic modulus of HN-modified CDE (HN-CDE) increase
by 52 and 170% compared with CDE, respectively. The wear rate and
average friction coefficient of HN-CDE are decreased by 42% and increased
by 45% compared with those of CDE, respectively. HN-CDE, with superior
mechanical strength and biotribological properties, has high potential
as a bone substitute and orthopedic implant.
Polymer composites have great potential applications
in the hip
joint replacement, where the combinations of high mechanical strength
and excellent biotribological properties are required. In this work,
a well-dispersed three-dimensional (3D) silicon nitride nanowire membrane
(SNm) designed as a reinforcement and brushite (Bs) served as bioactive
filler are constructed into the polymer matrix, forming SNm-reinforced
Bs/polymer composites (SNm-Bs/Pm). Especially, SNm could form a 3D
interlocked structure, where the ultralong silicon nitride nanowires
are entangled with each other. SNm could effectively facilitate the
penetration of the polymer matrix and improve the cohesion strength
of the polymer, thereby promoting mechanical and biotribological properties
for SNm-Bs/Pm. The performances for polymer composites are optimized
by increasing the layer number of preform. By comparing SNm-Bs/Pm
with one-layer preform, the tensile strength of SNm-Bs/Pm with six-layer
preforms reaches 83.3 MPa with an increase of 767.7%. In addition,
the friction coefficient and wear rate of SNm-Bs/Pm with six-layer
preforms in fetal bovine serum medium achieve 0.06 and 0.21 ×
10–14 m3(N·m)−1 and decrease by 82.4 and 72.4%, respectively. The present work provides
a promising methodology of preparing interlocked SNm-reinforced polymer
composites with enhanced mechanical and biotribological properties
that are potential for hip joint replacement applications.
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