Kinetic Effects on Hydroxyapatite Whiskers Synthesized by the Chelate Decomposition Method

Abstract

Hydroxyapatite (HA) whiskers have been synthesized using a number of chemical solution methods, including the chelate decomposition method. Numerous previous studies have investigated the effects of the reagents, reagent concentrations, solution pH, and reaction temperature on HA whisker morphology and composition. However, purely kinetic effects, such as the reaction heating and stirring rates, have not been rigorously investigated and are rarely reported in the literature. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate kinetic effects on the morphology of HA whiskers synthesized using the chelate decomposition method. In order to study the kinetic effects on the morphology of HA whiskers, three experimental parameters were varied independently: the reaction heating rate (0.36°–3.0°C/min), stirring rate (0–250 rpm), and temperature (80°–200°C). At all heating and stirring rates, precipitated whiskers were confirmed by XRD and FT‐IR to comprise phase‐pure, calcium‐deficient HA (Ca/P=1.57–1.62). The length and aspect ratio of HA whiskers increased with decreased heating rate, decreased stirring rate, and increased reaction temperature. The mean length and aspect ratio of HA whiskers increased approximately twofold with decreased heating rate over the range studied, following a power‐law relationship. Therefore, the reaction heating rate is a key variable that can be used to tailor the morphology of HA whiskers and ought to be reported in the literature. The reaction heating rate and temperature had relatively little effect on the width of HA whiskers. However, the precipitate morphology was altered significantly from micro‐scale whiskers to nano‐scale plates with increased stirring rate. These results offered new insights and provided clarification regarding the reaction mechanism, which is discussed in detail.