Tape casting of porous hydroxyapatite ceramics

The production of hydroxyapatite Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2 (HAp) films and laminates with controlled porosity is of high interest for biomedical applications and the tape casting is the more suitable technique to obtain these products. HAp ceramic sheets with a wide range of porosity have been prepared by reaction between dicalcium phosphate (CaHPO4) and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) mixed with the appropriate Ca/P molar ratio. The evolution of the carbon dioxide and water during sintering process leads to the development of highly porous microstructures. A contextual study was conducted to prepare thin HAp ceramic layers by tape casting starting from the commercial HAp powder calcined at different temperatures.