The influence of powder characteristics on two-step sintering behavior of hydroxyapatite

Abstract

Fabrication of full dense ceramic materials on the basis of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and biphasic calcium phosphate (BCP) with controllable microstructural and compositional characteristics attracts considerable efforts. Various synthesis and sintering methods were applied in order to achieve desirable material properties. In this study different nanopowders were produced and processed via two-step sintering (TSS) approach. Characterization of synthesized nanopowders were done by XRD, BET, FE-SEM, TEM and thermal analysis methods, while microstructural and chemical characterizations of sintered samples were performed through FE-SEM and XRD analysis. A possibility for obtaining full dense ceramics with suppressed grain growth is discussed on the basis of inherent nanopowders characteristics. Certain attention would be paid on thermal behavior of Ca-deficient HAp systems.