Degradation and Interfacial Properties of Iron Phosphate Glass Fiber-Reinforced PCL-Based Composite for Synthetic Bone Replacement Materials

Poly(caprolactone) matrix iron phosphate glass fiber-reinforced (16Na2O-24MgO-16CaO-4Fe2O3-40P2O5) composites (10% fiber by weight) were fabricated by compression molding. Tensile strength, tensile modulus, elongation at break (%), bending strength, bending modulus and impact strength of the composites were found to be 72 MPa, 2.74 GPa, 11%, 86 MPa, 3.22 GPa and 16 kJ/m2, respectively. Degradation tests of the fibers and composites were performed in aqueous medium at 37°C. Mechanical properties of the composites retained almost 90% of their original properties after 6 months of aqueous degradation. Interfacial shear strength (IFSS) of the composite was also measured by using the single-fiber fragmentation test. The IFSS of the composite system was found to be 4.01 MPa.