Mechanochemical synthesis of hydroxyapatite/titanium nanocomposite

In this work, hydroxyapatite-20%wt titanium (HAp-20%.wt Ti) nanocomposite was produced by novel solid state method. The effect of one step mechanochemical process on the formation, structural, and morphological features of HAp-based nanocomposite was explored. Characterization of the products was accomplished by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. Phase analysis indicated that the milling time and thermal annealing process at 650 degrees C affected phase stability and structural features of products. The crystallinity degree of mechanosynthesized powders increased after thermal treatment at 650 degrees C. Morphological evaluation exhibited that the average particle size of resultant powder with ellipse-like morphology reached about 25 +/- 15 nm after 20 h of milling. The prepared nanopowders which have an acceptable purity are able to improve the biomedical performances of the calcium phosphate-based nanocomposites owing to possess appropriate morphological and structural features. (C) 2010 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.