Synthesis of hydroxyapatite via sol–gel combustion route: A comparative analysis of single and mixed fuels

Abstract

Hydroxyapatite (HAp) is a highly biocompatible mineral source for bone and soft tissue repair, owing to its similarities to native bone. Researchers have adopted combustion synthesis by using various fuels for the synthesis of hydroxyapatite. This study sheds new light on the effects of glycine and succinic acid as single fuels as well as a mixed fuels for hydroxyapatite synthesis. A marked observation from the comparative analysis was that mixed fuels with an optimum ratio resulted in the formation of hydroxyapatite in a single phase with an average crystallite size of 21–23 nm. However, single fuels, such as glycine and succinic acid, produce hydroxyapatite with larger crystallite sizes of 25–28 nm and 38–41 nm. Additionally, the use of mixed fuels facilitated the product formation at a lower temperature of 500 °C, whereas single fuels produced hydroxyapatite at an elevated temperature of 900 °C.