Structural and spatially resolved studies on the hardening of a commercial resin-modified glass-ionomer cement.

A commercial photopolymerizable resin-modified glass-ionomer (Fuji II LC) was studied using a variety of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques. (1)H and (19)F stray-field imaging (STRAFI) enabled to follow the acid-base reaction kinetics in self-cured (SC) samples. Gelation and maturation processes with 25 min and 40 h average time constants, respectively, were distinguished. In self- & photo-cured (SPC) samples, two processes were also observed, which occurred with 2 s and 47 s average time constants. (1)H, (27)Al and (29)Si magic angle spinning (MAS) NMR, (13)C cross-polarization (CP)/MAS NMR and (27)Al multiple quanta (MQ)MAS NMR spectroscopy were used to obtain structural information on the glass and cements that were either SC or SPC. The presence of methacrylate groups was identified in the solid component. Unreacted hydroxyl ethylmethacrylate (HEMA) was detected in self-cured cement. (27)Al data showed that approximately 28% and 20% of Al is leached out from glass particles in SC and SPC samples, respectively. The upfield shift detected in (29)Si MAS NMR spectra of the cements is consistent with a decrease in the number of Al species in the second coordination sphere of the silicon structures. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed existence of 3D shrinkage of the cement matrix in photo-cured cements.