Mechanical performance of denture acrylic resin modified with poly(4‐styrenesulfonic acid‐co‐maleic anhydride) sodium salt and strontium titanate.

Since acrylate‐based materials are widely used in dentistry, their drawbacks such as low impact resistance and hardness, require continuous research in the field of materials science in order to avoid sudden fracture caused by chewing or fall. In this study, auto‐polymerizing poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), commonly used as denture base material, was reinforced with poly(4‐styrenesulfonic acid‐co‐maleic anhydride) sodium salt (PSSMA) and strontium titanate (STO), with the aim of improving impact behavior and microhardness. Morphological analysis confirmed formation of phase‐separated and co‐continuous microscopic structures of PSSMA in PMMA, without visible agglomerates of STO nanoparticles, indicating that PSSMA‐STO interaction contributed to a better distribution of nanoparticles. Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy revealed that PSSMA and STO did not interfere in the polymerization of methyl methacrylate. This was further supported by thermal analysis, which also showed that the addition of PSSMA and STO had no significant influence on thermal degradation. On the other side, PSSMA and STO significantly enhanced mechanical performance of PMMA. The modulus of elasticity increased by up to 48.6%, total absorbed impact energy improved by up to 108.4%, and microhardness increased by up to 272.8% when PSSMA was combined with STO for reinforcing denture PMMA. These results demonstrate the significant potential of PSSMA, which could be combined with other ceramic nanoparticles for denture reinforcement in the future. Highlights: This research presents novel dental hybrid composite.Influence of strontium titanate (STO) and poly(4‐styrenesulfonic acid‐co‐maleic anhydride) sodium salt (PSSMA) on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) was investigated.PSSMA/STO improved modulus of elasticity, microhardness and impact resistance.Sample with 5 wt% PSSMA and 1 wt% STO showed the highest improvement compared to PMMA.Presented hybrid composite could use as denture base material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]