Exploring the functional abilities of PVA–combeite composites as potential candidates for bone substitutes Nishant Kumar Kolli, Swarup Kundu, Santanu Roy International Journal of Materials Research, 2024 The field of biomaterials continually seeks novel materials to meet the requirements of bone tissue engineering. This manuscript explores polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)–combeite composites. The composites were characterized using X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Notably, the X-ray diffraction patterns unveil a combination of amorphous and crystalline regions attributed to PVA and combeite, respectively. More importantly, PVA–combeite composites exhibit reduced swelling and degradation rates compared to pure PVA. The percentage swelling and degradation values (%) for the prepared materials fall within the range of 190–340 and 55–75, respectively. The spherical apatite structures formed post the immersion in Hanks’ Balanced Salt Solution indicate that these materials could be used in the field of bone tissue engineering.
Rapid cooling method for synthesis of high conducting rhombohedral phase stabilized LiZr2(PO4)3 solid electrolyte Krisanta Rai, Swarup Kundu Physica Scripta, 2024 LiZr2(PO4)3 (LZP) solid electrolyte shows excellent stability with Li metal anode and other electrode materials but suffers due to poor ionic conductivity at ambient temperatures. It synthesizes as a low conducting (10−8 S cm−1) triclinic phase at room temperature (RT), which undergoes a phase transition to a high conducting (10−5 S cm−1) rhombohedral phase at around 60 °C. Partial substitution of Zr4+ in LZP with La3+, Sr3+, Al3+, etc. is found to stabilize this high conducting phase at RT. In this work, rhombohedral phase stabilized LZP samples are prepared via the method of rapid cooling, wherein the samples are sintered at high temperatures for relatively short durations of time followed by rapid cooling/quenching to RT. Sample properties are characterized using XRD, SEM, and impedance spectroscopy (IS) techniques. Pristine LZP which was quenched to RT after sintering for 1200 °C/5h exhibited a high RT ionic conductivity value of 0.9 × 10−5 S cm−1. This high ionic conductivity value for pristine LZP has never been reported before. Pristine LZP is mostly found to possess ionic conductivity value in the range of 10−8–10−7 S cm−1 at RT.
Probing into the potential features of sodium calcium silicate (Na2Ca2Si3O9) synthesized by the solid-state route Nishant Kumar Kolli, Datta Darshan V M, Dhivyaa Anandan, Venketesh Sivaramakrishnan, Amit Kumar Jaiswal, Siva Kumar Belliraj, Swarup Kundu, Santanu Roy Physica Scripta, 2022 Silicate ceramics are one of the established candidates employed in many industrial and medical applications. Not many of the existing reports mention and investigate the properties of the phases or individual components of these materials. In this exploratory study, one such sodium calcium silicate, combeite (Na2Ca2Si3O9) was synthesized by the solid-state route and studied for its properties. The preliminary investigation involved thermal treatments followed by characterization to identify the formation of the pure phase. The mechanical behaviour was evaluated by compression tests. Surface treatments were executed to enhance the capabilities to support cellular proliferation. The in-vitro acellular immersion test showed the formation of calcium phosphates. All the tested materials exhibited adequate cell viability properties for prospective applications in life sciences.
Exploring the potential structural, optical, dielectric facets and in-vitro behavior of combeite synthesized by the sol-gel route Nishant Kumar Kolli, Sai Phalguna Kanikaram, Krisanta Rai, Swarup Kundu, Santanu Roy Physica Scripta, 2022 The current study combeite (Na2Ca2Si3O9) was synthesized by the sol-gel route and an attempt was made to investigate its various features. The formation of a pure phase was confirmed using the powder x-ray diffraction technique. Dielectric measurements were performed on the synthesized material over a wide range of temperature and frequency. The optical band gaps were found to be in the range 1.5–2.8 eV. The in-vitro acellular immersion studies showed the formation of apatite on the surface of combeite. The cell proliferation assay indicated enhanced cell viability in the case of combeite when compared to calcium phosphate. These results of this study have implications for various industrial and medical applications.
Structure and ionic conductivity of nitrated lithium disilicate (LiSiON) glasses Shiv Prakash Singh, José Fabián Schneider, Swarup Kundu, Ana Candida Martins Rodrigues, Paulo Parreira Gomes de Mattos, Edgar Dutra Zanotto, Jean Rocherullé, Patricia Bénard-Rocherullé, Ronan Lebullenger Materials Chemistry and Physics, 2018
