Effect of titanium and zirconium substitutions for calcium on the formation and structure of tricalcium phosphate and hydroxyapatite

Abstract

The effect of Ti and Zr substitutions for Ca cations on the formation of tricalcium phosphate and hydroxyapatite has been studied in a wide concentration range: from 0.1 to 20 mol %. Upon the incorporation of Ti and Zr cations into tricalcium phosphate, the major forming phase is β-tricalcium phosphate. On the addition of low substituent concentrations to hydroxyapatite, we observe the formation of a single-phase material with the apatite structure. Increasing the substituent concentration to 10–20 mol % Ti or 20 mol % Zr leads to the formation of tricalcium phosphate. The unit-cell volume of the cation-substituted tricalcium phosphates has been shown to decrease with increasing substituent concentration. In the zirconium-containing hydroxyapatites, the unit-cell volume decreases with increasing zirconium concentration, whereas the titanium-containing hydroxyapatites exhibit an opposite tendency.