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Effect of β‐tricalcium phosphate on the thermal foaming behavior of poly(vinyl alcohol)/water system
Author(s) -
Zhu Jun,
Li Li,
Wang Qi
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of applied polymer science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.575
H-Index - 166
eISSN - 1097-4628
pISSN - 0021-8995
DOI - 10.1002/app.44737
Subject(s) - materials science , vinyl alcohol , composite material , porosity , composite number , chemical engineering , polyvinyl alcohol , foaming agent , polymer , engineering
Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/β‐tricalcium phosphate (β‐TCP, Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ) porous composite, which has potential application in articular cartilage repair, was prepared through thermal foaming using water as both plasticizer and physical blowing agent. The effects of β‐TCP content on the foaming behavior, the structure and properties of the porous composites were studied. The results showed that β‐TCP could form hydrogen bonds or coordination interaction with PVA and water; with the incorporation of β‐TCP, the content of nonfreezable bound water in system increased, the water evaporation reduced, beneficial to the controllable foaming of water. The interactions between PVA‐β‐TCP led to the enhanced melt viscosity of PVA. Simultaneously, the β‐TCP particles in matrix could act as heterogeneous nucleation agent to increase the cell density. When β‐TCP content was 7.4 wt %, the porous composite showed the optimal cell structure, i.e., 250 μm average cell size and 87% porosity. The dynamic modulus of the porous composites increased with β‐TCP content and showed frequency‐dependence. The surface contact angle and permeability of the porous composites varied with β‐TCP content, which ranged from 35° to 48° and 11 × 10 −14 to 27 × 10 −14 m 2 , respectively. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134 , 44737.