Fabrication and characterization of ZnO modified bioactive glass nanoparticles

Bioactive glass nanoparticles in the system (SiO₂-CaO-P₂O₅-ZnO) were synthesized following the sol-gel technique. The prepared glass nanoparticles of 1, 3 and 5 wt% of ZnO (coded: GZ1, GZ3 and GZ5, respectively) were characterized by TEM, FTIR, XRF, TGA and DSC. All glass powders had particle sizes less than 100 nm. Textural analysis revealed that for GZ1, GZ3 and GZ5, the average pore diameters, measured by the high-speed gas sorption analyzer, were 15.9, 15.4 and 15.2 nm, respectively, while the average pore diameters measured by the mercury intrusion porosimetry were 47, 50 and 63 nm, respectively. All glass powders were highly porous (75, 76 and 75%) with surface areas of 233, 94 and 118 m²/g for GZ1, GZ3 and GZ5, respectively. All glass powders induced an apatite layer on their surfaces upon immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) as verified by SEM and TF-XRD.