Alignment of HAp Crystal Using a Sample Rotation in a Static Magnetic Field

Abstract

Formation of crystallographically orientaed hydroxyapatite (HAp) is one of the promising ways to utilize their anisotropic nature of chemical and biological properties. On the other hand, the development of super conducting magnet technology enables to introduce a high magnetic field which can control crystal orientation of non-magnetic materials with magnetic anisotropy. In this study, a high magnetic field and sample rotation are simultaneously imposed on the hydroxyapatite during a slip casting process in order to align its c-plane within a horizontal plane. From X-ray diffraction, it has been found that the HAp crystals in the sample treated with the magnetic field and the sample rotation were oriented to a particular direction in the slip casting process and it was enhanced by the subsequent sintering process, while the c-axis crystal orientation of the sample treated without the magnetic field and with the sample rotation was not observed before and after the sintering.