Tribological behavior of silver-doped eggshell-derived hydroxyapatite reinforcement in PMMA-based composite

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and hydroxyapatite (HAp) are the two most promising biocompatible materials used in biomedical applications. The current research performs the wettability and tribological characterization of the novel hybrid biocomposite of PMMA reinforced with eggshell-derived, silver-doped hydroxyapatite (HAPAg). Varying wt% of HAPAg in PMMA were analyzed using a ball-on-disk tribometer. The coefficient of friction shows an increasing trend with an increase in normal load for all the compositions while, with reinforcement of HAPAg, it increases till 5 wt% and then shows a sudden decrement at PHA7.5 due to the formation of flattened asperities at the contact surface. However, the progressive increase in hardness with the inclusion of HAPAg in PMMA correlates with the reduction in the wear rate of the composite samples. The highest wear rate was observed for PHA0 (i.e. 862.42 × 10−5 mm3/m) at 60 N. As observed, the hydrophilicity increases (contact angle changed from 96.30° ± 2.11° [PHA0] to 81.70° ± 1.01° [PHA7.5]), and the porosity decreases (≈2.86%) with the reinforcement of HAPAg in PMMA which further improves the cohesion strength and microhardness of the composite material. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis confirms the uniform reinforcement of HAPAg, and the worn surface behavior was inspected using scanning electron microscopy, Stereo zoom microscope, and three-dimensional surface profilometer. The low-specific wear characteristic at higher loads ensures the application of developed biocomposite material in dental and orthopedic applications.