Thermal Properties of Copper Matrix-Ceramic Filler Composite Prepared by Polymer Solution Method

A copper (Cu) metal-ceramic filler composite with high thermal conductivity and a suitable thermal expansion coefficient was designed for application as a high-performance heat dissipation material. The purpose of the designed material was to utilize the high thermal conductivity of Cu while lowering its high coefficient of thermal expansion by using a ceramic filler. In this study, a Cu-sol containing a certain amount of AlN or SiC ceramic filler was prepared using a non-aqueous solvent. A complex was produced by applying a PVB polymer to prepare a homogeneous precursor. The composite sintered without pressure in a reducing atmosphere showed low thermal conductivity due to residual pores, but the hot press sintered composite exhibited improved thermal conductivity. The Cu composite with 30 wt% AlN filler added exhibited a thermal conductivity of 290 W/m·K and a thermal expansion coefficient of 9.2 × 10-6/oC. Due to the pores in the composite, the thermal conductivity showed some difference from the theoretical value calculated from the rule of mixture. However, the thermal expansion coefficient did not show any significant difference.

Thermal Characteristics of Cu Matrix-SiC Filler Composite Using Nano-Sized Cu Powder

A Cu metal-ceramic filter composite with high thermal conductivity and a suitable thermal expansion coefficient was designed to be applied to high performance heat dissipation materials. The purpose of using the ceramic filler was to decrease the high coefficient of thermal expansion of Cu matrix utilizing the high thermal conductivity of Cu. In this study, a SiC ceramic filler powder was added to the Cu sol including Zn as a liquid phase sintering agent. The final complex was produced by applying a PVB polymer to prepare a homogeneous precursor followed by sintering in a reducing atmosphere. The pressureless sintered composite showed lower thermal conductivity than pure bulk Cu due to the some residual pores. In the case of the Cu–SiC composite in which 10 wt% of SiC filler was added, it showed a thermal conductivity of 100 W/m·°C and a thermal expansion coefficient of 13.3×10−6/°C. The thermal conductivity showed some difference from the theoretical calculated value due to the pores in the composite, but the thermal expansion coefficient did not show a significant difference.

The Effect of Liquid Rubber Addition on the Physicochemical Properties, Cytotoxicity and Ability to Inhibit Biofilm Formation of Dental Composites

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of modification with liquid rubber on the adhesion to tooth tissues (enamel, dentin), wettability and ability to inhibit bacterial biofilm formation of resin-based dental composites. Two commercial composites (Flow-Art–flow type with 60% ceramic filler and Boston–packable type with 78% ceramic filler; both from Arkona Laboratorium Farmakologii Stomatologicznej, Nasutów, Poland) were modified by addition of 5% by weight (of resin) of a liquid methacrylate-terminated polybutadiene. Results showed that modification of the flow type composite significantly (p < 0.05) increased the shear bond strength values by 17% for enamel and by 33% for dentine. Addition of liquid rubber significantly (p < 0.05) reduced also hydrophilicity of the dental materials since the water contact angle was increased from 81–83° to 87–89°. Interestingly, modified packable type material showed improved antibiofilm activity against Steptococcus mutans and Streptococcus sanguinis (quantitative assay with crystal violet), but also cytotoxicity against eukaryotic cells since cell viability was reduced to 37% as proven in a direct-contact WST-8 test. Introduction of the same modification to the flow type material significantly improved its antibiofilm properties (biofilm reduction by approximately 6% compared to the unmodified material, p < 0.05) without cytotoxic effects against human fibroblasts (cell viability near 100%). Thus, modified flow type composite may be considered as a candidate to be used as restorative material since it exhibits both nontoxicity and antibiofilm properties.