Phase Identification, Morphology, and Compressibility of Scallop Shell Powder (Amusium Pleuronectes) for Bone Implant Materials

Scallops with the scientific name Amusium pleuronectes contain calcium in the form of calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) as the main constituent of scallop shells, which is as much as 97–99%. The high levels of calcium present in the scallop shells provide a potential opportunity for the scallop shells to become bone implant material. This study aims to determine the phase, morphology, distribution of functional groups, and compressibility of scallop shell powder without a sintering process and scallop shell powder with a sintering process for 60, 90, and 120 minutes. The design of this study was initiated by the synthesis of scallop shell powder using the ball milling method for 5 hours and a rotation speed of 400 rpm, then sintered at a temperature of 1100°C in 60, 90, and 120 minutes. Scallop shell powder samples were tested using X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and compressibility test. Based on the results of the study, it can be concluded that the phase identification results indicate a phase change from CaCO₃ to CaO in the samples with a good sintering process with a time of 60, 90, and 120 minutes due to the sintering process with a temperature of 1100^oC. In samples without a sintering process, the crystal size was 69.55 nm; in samples with a sintering process of 60, 90, and 120 minutes, the crystal sizes were 106.57, 106.58, and 106.59 nm, respectively. The results of morphological identification showed that the morphology of the scallop shell powder sample without the sintering process had an irregular shape, while the scallop shell powder sample with the sintering process had an interconnected skeleton shape. The results of the identification of the distribution of functional groups showed that the samples without the sintering process contained the CaCO₃ functional group, while the samples with the sintering process contained the CaO and Ca(OH)₂ functional groups. The results of the identification of compressibility showed that the scallop shell powder sample without the sintering process had a lower compressibility value than the sample with the sintering process. Samples with a sintering time of 60 minutes had a higher compressibility value than samples with a sintering process of 90 and 120 minutes.