Synthesis and 3D Interconnected Nanostructured h-BN-Based Biocomposites by Low-Temperature Plasma Sintering: Bone Regeneration Applications

Recent advances and demands in biomedical applications drive a large amount of research to synthesize easily scalable low-density, high-strength, and wear-resistant biomaterials. The chemical inertness with low density combined with high strength makes h-BN one of the promising materials for such application. In this work, three-dimensional hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) interconnected with boron trioxide (B<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf>) was prepared by easily scalable and energy efficient spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. The composite structure shows significant densification (1.6-1.9 g/cm³) and high surface area (0.97-14.5 m²/g) at an extremely low SPS temperature of 250 °C. A high compressive strength of 291 MPa with a reasonably good wear resistance was obtained for the composite structure. The formation of strong covalent bonds between h-BN and B<inf>2</inf>O<inf>3</inf> was formulated and established by molecular dynamics simulation. The composite showed significant effect on cell viability/proliferation. It shows a high mineralized nodule formation over the control, which suggests its use as a possible osteogenic agent in bone formation.