MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF DENTAL COMPOSITE MATERIALS REINFORCED WITH MICRO AND NANO-SIZE Al۲O۳ FILLER PARTICLES

Abstract: Composite specimens were prepared by dispersion of various amounts of nano-sized Al۲O۳ fillers in a monomer system containing ۶۰% Bis-GMA and ۴۰% TEGDMA. For comparative purposes, composite samples containing micrometer size Al۲O۳ fillers were also prepared following the same procedure. The mechanical properties of the light- cured samples were assessed by three-point flexural strength, diametral tensile strength, and microhardness tests. The results indicated a more than hundred percent increase in the flexural strength and nearly an eighty percent increase in the diametral tensile strength values in the samples containing nano-size Al۲O۳ filler particles. It is interesting to note that, this improvement was observed at a much lower nano-size filler content. Fracture surfaces analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, indicated a brittle type of fracture in both sets of specimens.

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Keywords: Composites ، Polymers ، Ceramics ، Mechanical Properties