Preparation and the phase transformation behavior of amorphous mesoporous calcium silicate

Calcium silicate is not only an important substance in the ceramic and cement industries but also a novel biomaterial for bone repair due to the good bioactivity and degradability/resolvability. In this study, the well-ordered amorphous mesoporous calcium silicate (MCS) was synthesized and its abnormal phase transformation behavior was investigated. The results illustrated an abnormal phase transformation phenomenon of CaSiO3, which was closely related to the mesoporous structure of the materials. When the amorphous mesoporous calcium silicate was calcined, the low-temperature phase beta-CaSiO3 did not appear with the increase of the temperature and high-temperature phase alpha-CaSiO3 was obtained at 800 degrees C, which was 325 degrees C lower than the normal temperature for the formation of alpha-CaSiO3. Our results indicated that mesoporous structure could influence the phase transformation behavior of materials, which can effectively decrease the preparation temperature of high-temperature ceramics. (C) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.