Published online by Cambridge University Press: 16 February 2011
Diopside (CaMgSi2O6) crystals were synthesized mainly by several methods from solution. Sol-gel methods and coprecipitation procedures were carried out using the metal chlorides, nitrates and TEOS as the starting materials. The diopsides obtained from the solutions, in which MgCl2 was used as one of the the starting reagents, showed the single phase diopside XRD patterns and fairly high mechnical strength. Sodium carbonate and iron nitrate were added to the starting solutions in order to examine the morphological effects of these extra elements. Resulted XRD patterns showed the small 2 θ shifts from the pure diopside patterns. The distribution maps of each elements were obtained by EPMA.
To confirm the bioactivity of these compounds, the end products pellets were immersed in the SBF. The apatite layer formations were inspected by XRD and SEM.