Wet Method of Hardystonite Synthesis

Hardystonite (Ca2ZnSi2O7) is a promising material for bone tissue engineering due to its biocompatibility and high strength characteristics. It can be obtained by mechanochemical methods or via sol–gel technology. However, these methods are quite laborious, as they involve lengthy stages of hydrolysis or grinding. This article describes a simple method for the synthesis of hardystonite from readily available reagents, which consists in slowly mixing an aqueous suspension of Ca(OH)2 sequentially with solutions of Na2SiO3 and ZnCl2, aging the precipitate in the mother liquor, filtering, washing, drying, and calcining in air at 1250°C. Using XRD and IR spectroscopy, it was confirmed that the synthesis product is single-phase Ca2ZnSi2O7. It is characterized by a specific surface area of 1.7 m2/g and a ζ-potential of –16.3 mV. The described synthesis method can be used as a basis for technologies of production of biocompatible ceramics made of Ca2ZnSi2O7.