Hydrothermal microemulsion synthesis of stoichiometric single crystal hydroxyapatite nanorods with mono-dispersion and narrow-size distribution

The stoichiometric single crystal hydroxyapatite (HAp) nanorods with mono-dispersion and narrow-size distribution in diameter were successfully synthesized via a hydrothermal microemulsion method, and the as-synthesized powders were characterized by XRD, FETEM, FTIR and ICP-AES. In the present work, a novel technique of w/o microemulsions of CTAB/n-pentanol/n-hexane/water under hydrothermal condition to synthesize single crystal HAp nanorods with diameter 25-40 nm and length 55-350 nm, was described. The homogeneity in size distribution and shape of the HAp nanorods was probably attributed to the w/o nano-reactors and the soft template of the surfactants, and the high crystallization of the products was attributed to the hydrothermal treatment. The sintering ability of the nanorods and the mechanical properties of the fabricated HAp bioceramics were also preliminarily investigated. The results showed that the fabricated HAp bioceramics possessed high mechanical properties. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.