Abstract :
The effect of temperature on stoichiometry, morphology and crystallinity of hydroxyapatite (HA) prepared from calcium hydroxide and phosphoric acid was investigated.
The crystals precipitated in the temperature range 22–95°C and matured for 20 h at precipitation temperature have shown the properties of thermally stable HA. The size and crystallinity of the crystals increase with an increase of the preparation temperature.
HA precipitated at 95°C shows thermal stability even without ripening. The importance of the maturation stage in obtaining thermally stable HA increases with decreasing precipitation temperature.
HA precipitated at low temperature (22°C) after appropriate maturation shows the properties of stoichiometric low crystalline HA and appears to be very promising as a bioceramic precursor.
