Abstract
Nano Zirconia (ZrO(2)) has been used in dental implants due to having excellent mechanical properties and biocompatibility that match the requirements for the purpose. Zirconia undergoes phase transformation during heating: monoclinic (room temperature to 1170 °C), tetragonal (1170 °C to 2370 °C), and cubic (>2370 °C). Most useful mechanical properties can be obtained when zirconia is in a multiphase form or in partially stabilized zirconia (PSZ), which is achieved by adding small amounts of a metal oxide dopant, such as MgO (magnesia). This study aimed to synthesize nano Mg-PSZ from a local resource found in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, and examine its structural stability, biochemical stability, and mechanical properties. Nano Mg-PSZ was prepared from a zircon local to Indonesia, from West Kalimantan Province, MgSO(4)∙7H(2)O, and polyethylene glycol (PEG)-6000 was used as a template. The obtained t-ZrO(2) after calcination at 800 °C was shown to be stable at room temperature. The highest percentage of the t-ZrO(2) phase was obtained at Zr(0.95)Mg(0.05)O(2) with a variation of 99.5%. The hardness of Mg-PSZ increased from 554 MPa for ZrO(2) without MgO doping to 5266 MPa for ZrO(2) with a doping of 10% MgO. An in vitro biodegradation test showed that the greater the concentration of MgO in doping the ZrO(2), the greater the degradation resistance of Mg-PSZ in simulated body fluid (SBF) solution.