Abstract: The poor wear resistance and bio-inertness surface of polyetheretherketone (PEEK) limits the implant applications of PEEK and its composites. Carbon fiber (CFR) was used to boost the wear resistance of PEEK; however, the bioactivity of carbon fiber-reinforced polyetheretherketone (CFR-PEEK) composites is even worse. The bioactivity of CFR-PEEK can be enhanced by constructing 3D porous structure. Nevertheless, large number of sulfur component introduced by sulfonation shows cytotoxicity and can cause damage to human cells. Besides, the sulfur component affects the cytotoxicity and bioactivity of sulfonated CFR-PEEK (SCFR-PEEK). Hydrothermal treatment can sweep away the sulfur component in the 3D porous structure of SCFR-PEEK. Meanwhile, the changes in crystallinity and hardness after hydrothermal treatment may also affect the wear resistance. Therefore, the effect of hydrothermal temperature on wear resistance, cytotoxicity and bioactivity of SCFR-PEEK were studied. In this work, the samples with hydrothermal temperature 90–120 ℃ exhibited high wear resistance. The 3D pore structure of SCFR-PEEK unchanged after hydrothermal treatment, and the sulfur component in the 3D pore structure gradually decreased with increasing hydrothermal temperature by SEM images and EDS analysis. In addition, SCFR-PEEK treated in 90–120 ℃. Exhibited low cytotoxicity and high bioactivity, which is beneficial for the implant materials.

Key words: Carbon fber-reinforced polyetheretherketone composites , · Biomaterials , · Hydrothermal treatment , · Cytotoxicity , · Microstructure , · Surface structure