Nanostructured hydroxyapatite powders produced by a flame-based technique

In this work we reported the production of hydroxyapatite (HA) powder, one of the most studied calcium phosphates in the bioceramics field, using a cost-effective apparatus, composed by three major components: the atomization device, the pilot and main flames and finally the powder collector system. Calcium acetate and ammonium phosphate, diluted in ethanol and water, were used as salts in the precursor solution. The Ca/P molar ratio in the precursor solution was 1.65, equivalent to biological hydroxyapatite. After its production and collection, HA powder was calcined at 600 °C for 2 h. X-ray diffraction analysis pointed to the formation of crystalline hydroxyapatite powders. Carbonate was identified in the powders by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) showed that the powders were composed of spherical primary particles and secondary aggregates, with the morphology unchanged after calcination. By transmission electronic microscopy (TEM), it was observed that the crystallite size of the primary particles was 24.8 ± 5.8 nm, for the calcined powder. The specific surface area was 15.03 ± 6.4 and 26.50 ± 7.6 m2/g, for the as-synthetized and calcined powder respectively.