Preparation of reduced graphene oxide/hydroxyapatite nanocomposite and evaluation of graphene sheets/hydroxyapatite interface

Abstract

In this investigation, reduced graphene oxide/hydroxyapatite (rGO/HA) hybrid powders have been synthesized using hydrogen gas injection into hydrothermal autoclave. The powders were then consolidated with spark plasma sintering. The results showed that this method of synthesis caused the obtained powders to have high crystallinity. Microscopic analysis confirmed the presence of rGO sheets with folding and wrinkling in the nanocomposite and indicated that various crystalline planes such as (002) and (300) played a role in the growth of hydroxyapatite crystals. The results of interface analysis (HA||rGO) showed that the HA is coherently connected by its (300)-planes with the surface of the rGO sheets and this coherency is accomplished in the rGO cross-section with the (002) planes of HA. The hardness and the Young's modulus of the composite samples were 5.9–6.6 GPa and 132–146 GPa respectively.