Atomic and vibrational origins of mechanical toughness in bioactive cement during setting

Kun V. Tian, Bin Yang, Yuanzheng Yue, Daniel T. Bowron, Jerry Mayers, Robert S. Donnan, Csaba Dobó-Nagy, John W. Nicholson, Fang De-Cai, A. Lindsay Greer, Gregory A. Chass () and G. Neville Greaves ()
Additional contact information
Kun V. Tian: Faculty of Dentistry, Semmelweis University
Bin Yang: University of Chester, Thornton Science Park
Yuanzheng Yue: Laboratory of Extreme Glassy State, State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology
Daniel T. Bowron: ISIS Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton
Jerry Mayers: ISIS Facility, STFC Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Chilton
Robert S. Donnan: School of Electronic Engineering and Computer Science, Queen Mary University of London
Csaba Dobó-Nagy: Faculty of Dentistry, Semmelweis University
John W. Nicholson: School of Sport, Health and Applied Science, St Mary’s University
Fang De-Cai: College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University
A. Lindsay Greer: University of Cambridge
Gregory A. Chass: School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London
G. Neville Greaves: Laboratory of Extreme Glassy State, State Key Laboratory of Silicate Materials for Architectures, Wuhan University of Technology

Nature Communications, 2015, vol. 6, issue 1, 1-10

Abstract: Abstract Bioactive glass ionomer cements (GICs) have been in widespread use for ∼40 years in dentistry and medicine. However, these composites fall short of the toughness needed for permanent implants. Significant impediment to improvement has been the requisite use of conventional destructive mechanical testing, which is necessarily retrospective. Here we show quantitatively, through the novel use of calorimetry, terahertz (THz) spectroscopy and neutron scattering, how GIC’s developing fracture toughness during setting is related to interfacial THz dynamics, changing atomic cohesion and fluctuating interfacial configurations. Contrary to convention, we find setting is non-monotonic, characterized by abrupt features not previously detected, including a glass–polymer coupling point, an early setting point, where decreasing toughness unexpectedly recovers, followed by stress-induced weakening of interfaces. Subsequently, toughness declines asymptotically to long-term fracture test values. We expect the insight afforded by these in situ non-destructive techniques will assist in raising understanding of the setting mechanisms and associated dynamics of cementitious materials.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9631

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