Preparation of spherical Zn-substituted tricalcium phosphate powder by ultrasonic spray-pyrolysis technique and its characterization

Abstract

Zinc, an essential trace element, has a stimulatory effect on bone formation. To enhance the osteoconduction of implant materials such as hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate (TCP), zinc was incorporated into them. In this study, we have synthesized spherical zinc-substituted TCP (Zn-TCP) powders using ultrasonic spray-pyrolysis technique, fabricated Zn-TCP ceramics, and characterized their powder properties. Four kinds of Zn-TCPs with various amounts of zinc content were prepared, to examine the influence of zinc addition to the crystal structure of TCP and to compare the different Zn-TCPs with each other. Zn-TCP ceramics were fabricated from the resulting powders under different sintering temperatures. Zn-TCP samples were analyzed and led to the following results: the resulting powders were composed of α- and β-TCP phases, whereas the fabricated ceramics mainly consisted of β-TCP phase. The determination of zinc content in the resulting powders and fabricated ceramics showed a maximum content of 12 mol%. The resulting powders consisted of spherical particles with diameters <2 μm. The lattice constants of ceramics did not show a significant change of the a -axis, b -axis, and c -axis. The bulk density of Zn-TCPs showed their maximum at 1100°C, while the bulk density of Zn-TCP(0) was greatest at 1000°C.