Research Article
Khandan A, Ozada N, Karamia
Abstract
Nowadays, tricalcium phosphate TCP (Ca3 (PO4)2) that belongs to the group of calcium phosphate (CaPs) biomaterials as a hot topic of research for bone tissue repair applications. In this investigation, TCP powder was synthesized by mechanical activation (MA) method as a solid state process. The mixture was composed of a blend of pure calcite (CaCO3) and silica amorphous (SiO2) powder with 57% wt. and 43% wt., respectively. Then, the powder mixture milled by high energy ball mill with ball to powder ratio (BPR) 15:1 and rotation speed 600 rpm for 10 h. After then, the materials milled heated at three temperatures 900ºC, 1000ºC and 1100°C for 2 h in muffle furnace at the air atmosphere. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and BET technique performed on heated powders to characterize. According to XRD results, the patterns show that the phase TCP was just appeared in the mixture milled for 10 h. In addition, based on modified Scherer equation the TCP crystalline size was determined 40 nm. In fact, the present investigation indicated that TCP powder was composed of Nano-crystallite structure, 30-40 nm, can be prepared by MA method at 900°C or 1000°C to use as a new biomaterials for tissue engineering application.