Effect of the deposition route on the microstructure of plasma-sprayed hydroxyapatite coatings

Abstract

Plasma-spray (PS) is the most common technique used to cover orthopaedic titanium-based implant surfaces with hydroxyapatite (HA - Ca10(PO4)6OH2). The objective of the current work was to explore the influence of the precursor nature and characteristics (mainly powder size, Ca/P ratio, and density) on the morphology and the microstructure of HA coatings, deposited either by conventional atmospheric plasma spray (APS) or by rf-suspension plasma spray (rf-SPS). Two powders with different size distribution, density and shape were sprayed with same operating APS conditions. In parallel two water-based suspensions with distinct particle size and chemistry (Ca/P ratio) were implemented in rf-SPS. The morphology of both APS and rf-SPS coatings observed by SEM exhibits micro and sub-micro sized structures respectively, with similar porosity and thickness. The difference in precursor particle size does not affect the coating structure in rf-SPS, unlike in APS conditions. Superimposition of topography and phases maps performed from profilometry and Raman cartographies showed no direct correlation between the surface profile and composition. But such analysis highlighted the heterogeneity of the phases composing the coating surface, opening the possibility of a better understanding of biological behaviour.