Review of titanate coupling agents and their application for dental composite fabrication
Nidal Wanis Elshereksi, Mariyam Jameelah Ghazali, Andanastuti Muchtar, Che Husna Azhari · 2017 · 59 citationsRead the paper
Silane is a dominant coupler that is widely used in dentistry to promote adhesion among the components of dental composites. Silica-based fillers can be easily silanized because of their similarly ordered structure. However, silane is hydrolytically degraded in the aqueous oral environment and inefficiently bonds to non-silica fillers. Thus, the development of hydrolytically stable dental composites is an important objective in the research on dental materials. Titanate coupling agents (TCAs) exhibit satisfactory interfacial bonding, enhanced homogeneous filler dispersion, and improved mechanical properties of the composites. Titanates also provide superior hydrolytic stability in wet environments, which should be considered in fabricating dental composites. The addition of a small amount of titanates can improve the resistance of the composites to moisture. This paper reviews the effects of the instability of silanes in moisture on the performance of dental composites and presents TCAs as alternative couplers to silanes for fabricating dental composites.
What the full text shows
Shown in the lab- Titanates maintain higher strength after exposure to boiling water compared to silanes. — >80% original properties vs. <30% for silanes (Exposure to boiling water)
- Silanized glass fiber composites show significant loss of mechanical properties after water immersion. — 66% decrease in flexural strength, 60% decrease in modulus (Three months soaking in water)
- Titanate proton coordination provides full surface coverage. — 100% of the surface (Titanate coupling agents)
- Titanate coupling agents (TCAs) improve bonding and stability for non-silica fillers. (Fillers such as TiO2, CaCO3, graphite, aramid, and carbon black)
- Setup
- Review of 89 English-language studies on coupling agents in dental composites.
- How
- Literature review of 89 studies published up to May 2016 using databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Science Direct.
- Limitations
- Lack of data on TCA stability in simulated body fluid or artificial saliva. · Limited current application of TCAs in clinical dental restoration field.
Summarized by Gemma 4 from the open-access full text · 7 Oct 2026. Read it