A kinetic analysis of the melting HA/Y-PSZ/HDPE nano bio composite for hard tissue materials

Melting characteristics of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) mixed with nano-size ceramic fillers (hydroxyl apatite and yttria stabilised zirconia) was analysed using the isochronal heating rate between 10 °C min−1 and 80 °C min−1. In this investigation, the kinetics of melting of HDPE-ceramic composites was analysed using the Avrami equation and the Kissinger model, applied to the Avrami formalism. The magnitude of the apparent energy barrier for the melting of HDPE falls within a range of 12 kJ mol−1 and 22 kJ mol−1, with a tendency for heterogeneous melting which was determined by characterising the value of Avrami exponent, n found to vary between 1 and 2. The heterogeneous nature of melting was also confirmed using the scanning electron microscopy, from which the evidences for both nano- and micro-scale interactions of HDPE with ceramic fillers (HA and yttria stabilised zirconia) were confirmed on a microscopic scale.