Preparation of Zirconia‐Toughened Bioactive Glass‐Ceramic Composite by Sinter–Hot Isostatic Pressing

High‐strength bioactive ceramics, MgO‐CaO‐SiO 2 ‐P 2 O 5 glass‐ceramic composites toughened by zirconia, were prepared by sinter‐hot isostatic pressing (sinter‐HIPing) to achieve easier mass production and higher reliability. Raw materials for preparing a dense presintered body were investigated to obtain almost complete densification by sinter‐HIPing. It was found that the densification of a presintered body was influenced by residual glassy phases in the crystallized glass particles. By using a controlled crystallized glass powder and a zirconia powder as raw materials, a presintered body with a relative density higher than 94% was prepared, and then it was densified to near its theoretical density by sinter‐HIPing. This bioceramic exhibited an extremely high bending strength of 400 to 1000 MPa and fracture toughness of 3 to 5 MPa.m 1/2 for 30 to 80 vol% of zirconia.