Dynamic mechanical behavior of nano-ZnO reinforced dental composite

In the present work, Bisphenol-A Glycidyl Methacrylate / Triethylene Glycol Dimethylacrylate based dental composites filled with 0-30 wt.% silane treated nano-ZnO were fabricated and tested for their dynamic mechanical properties. Samples were kept in each of three different mediums such as cold drink, distilled water and saliva for 7 days. The dynamic mechanical properties such as storage modulus, loss modulus and Tan delta were evaluated and compared for each composite under different conditions. The finding of results indicated that on adding 30 wt.% nano-ZnO, the storage modulus was increased by 109% in case of post cured, 120% in case of cold drink, 125% in case of artificial saliva but decreased by 70% in case of distilled water. The loss modulus was increased by 175% in case of post cured, 30% in case of cold drink, 50% in case of artificial saliva but decreased by 50% in case of distilled water. Further, minimum value of storage modulus was reported in case of distilled water medium followed by cold drink and then artificial saliva. Also, cold drink seems to be better medium than distilled water in terms of dynamic mechanical properties of dental composite.