Solid-state preparation and dental application of an organically modified calcium phosphate

Excerpt

Mechanochemical (MC) ball milling is a unique type of milling that has been in use as early as 1922 and smashes elements, oxides, ceramics, powders, etc. together to form new alloys or composites, entirely in the solid state [1‐3]. This destructive process deforms components through powerful ball–particle, particle–wall, and particle–particle collisions, creating significant grain boundaries at the nanoscale where components have fractured and fused [4, 5]. In order to generate the energy required for such fracturing and welding, typically the vessel containing the balls and material are rotated opposite to the direction of the rotating platform on which the vessel is placed. The resultant hybrid materials formed from this physical and chemical process have enabled material synthesis to extend beyond the usual wet laboratory synthetic procedures and open up a myriad of new opportunities. Examples include the extraction of elements from fluorescent powder for energy conservation, improvement of nitrogen absorption characteristics of getter materials, and the synthesis of nanoscale graphite platelets as an alternative to carbon nanotubes [6‐8]. A major benefit of the MC ball milling process is that it is readily scaleable and is currently used to create pigments for coatings, lotions, and paints [4]. Recently, surfactants have been incorporated into MC ball milling events to expedite particle size reduction [9], but the application of MC ball milling to produce functionalized hybrid materials tailored for specific health-related applications has not yet been demonstrated until now. …