Densification of hydroxyapatite through cold sintering process: Role of liquid phase chemistry and physical characteristic of HA powder

Abstract

Hydroxyapatite is a well-known bioactive material widely employed in bone regeneration applications. Densifying hydroxyapatite at the nanoscale remains challenging with conventional sintering methods. This investigation focuses on the densification of commercially available nano-hydroxyapatite powders through the cold sintering process, utilizing water, acetic acid, and phosphoric acid solutions as transient liquids under 360 MPa pressure at 200 °C. The study systematically examines the influence of physical parameters of hydroxyapatite powder, liquid nature, and ionic concentrations of acid solutions on densification and microstructural characteristics. The relative density of consolidated samples varied with respect to the ionic concentration of the acid solution. Notably, a maximum relative density of 90% has been achieved for hydroxyapatite cold sintered using 2 M phosphoric acid solution without changing the original phase of hydroxyapatite. Overall, this study offers valuable insights into the impact of liquid chemistry on the densification of hydroxyapatite using the cold sintering technique.