Noorhana Yahya, Poppy Puspitasari, Noor Rasyada Ahmad Latiff
Strength tests of a dental amalgam material were conducted. Zinc oxide and aluminium oxide nanoparticles were used as fillers to enhance the hardness and other mechanical properties of dental amalgam material. The zinc oxide nanoparticles were synthesized by using a sol-gel technique, the samples of which were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Field Emission Scanning Elec- tron Microscope (FESEM) and Raman spectroscopy and then mixed with the material and compacted into cylindrical-shaped pellets for green density, com- pressibility and Vickers hardness evaluation. Increment of 183% in hardness was observed with average Vickers hardness of 0.95 GPa by using 250°C zinc oxide as nanofiller. On the other hand, the Al2O3 nanoparticles filled composite observed 1.12 GPa of average Vickers hardness with 229% of increment as compared to without the fillers. All in all, that the application of Al2O3 nanoparticles as filler result in improved hardness. This work offers the dentistry industry a potential contender in the market place. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.
Fundamental and Applied Science Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Bandar Seri Iskandar, Malaysia; Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Bandar Seri Iskandar, Malaysia; Mechanical Engineering Department, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang 65145, Semarang Street, Indonesia
