17 Non-Metallic Material Science | Volume 03 | Issue 02 | October 2021 Non-Metallic Material Science https://ojs.bilpublishing.com/index.php/nmms Copyright © 2021 by the author(s). Published by Bilingual Publishing Co. This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). DOI: https://doi.org/10.30564/nmms.v3i2.3806 *Corresponding Author: S. Mollazadeh, Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM), Azadi Sq, Mashhad, Iran; Email: Mollazadeh.b@um.ac.ir 1. Introduction Glass Ionomer Cements (GICs) are a group of biocompatible atraumatic restorative materials which have been widely used to repair damaged teeth [1] . GICs consist mainly of bioactive glass (BGs) (e.g., calcium alumino-fluoro-silicate glass) powder and an aqueous solution containing polyacrylic acid [2] . The GICs have the remarkable ability to develop an ion-exchange hydroxyapatite layer and uptake of fluoride ions which can enhance their adherence to the tooth and the metal substrate [3] . GICs can also release fluoride ions due to their specifc chemical composition [4] . Furthermore, their low cytotoxicity and low coeffcient of thermal expansion, ARTICLE The Effect of ZnO on the Physicochemical and Mechanical Properties of Aluminosilicate Dental Cements Z. Kahrobaee M. Mazinani F. Kermani S. Mollazadeh * Department of Materials Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad (FUM), Azadi Sq, Mashhad, Iran ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history Received: 6 October 2021 Accepted: 22 October 2021 Published Online: 31 October 2021 In this study, the effect of the addition of various amounts of ZnO (0, 1, 2, and 3 wt. %) to aluminosilicate bioactive glass (BGs) network (SiO 2 -Al 2 O 3 - P 2 O 5 -CaF 2 -CaO-K 2 O-Na 2 O) on the mechanical properties of the fabricated glass ionomer cement (GIC) samples was studied. The GIC samples were fabricated by mixing the synthesized aluminosilicate BGs with Riva- self cure liquid. The synthesized aluminosilicate glass was characterized using differential thermal analysis (DTA), X-Ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Besides, the mechanical properties of GICs were evaluated using Vickers microhardness and Diametral tensile strength (DTS) test. According to DTA analysis, the glass transition temperature (Tg) of aluminosilicate BGs was decreased from 575 to 525 °C. According to the results, the aluminosilicate BGs with an amorphous state (~90%) and the grain size of 36 μm were synthesized. Doping of the ZnO to glass network up to 3 wt. % could increase the amorphous phase up to 95% and decrease the grain size of the particles up to 28 μm. The microhardness and DTS of the GIC samples containing the aluminosilicate BGs were about 677 Hv and 8.5 MPa, respectively. Doping of ZnO to the glass network increased the mentioned values up to 816 Hv and 12.1 MPa, respectively. Keywords: Aluminosilicate glasses Glass ionomer cement (GIC) ZnO Orthodontic applications