Structural and morphological study of electrodeposited calcium phosphate materials submitted to thermal treatment

Abstract

The effect of thermal treatments on electrodeposited calcium phosphate materials (CaP) is investigated. For this purpose, several temperatures up to 1000°C are applied to powders obtained by scratching the synthesized coatings from their metallic substrate. The goal is to assess the structural and the morphological modifications of the powders that are known to strongly influence the in vivo bioactivity of the CaP materials.The morphology of the CaP materials is made of needles at room temperature that agglomerate to form rounded particles when the treatment temperature exceeds 800°C. Simultaneously, the crystallinity increases with the treatment temperature until reaching a fully crystalline biphasic structure at 1000°C. This biphasic structure consists in 80% Hydroxyapatite (HAP) and 20% β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP).