Novel Synthesis Method of Hydroxyapatite Whiskers by Hydrolysis of alpha‐Tricalcium Phosphate in Mixtures of Water and Organic Solvent

A novel and simple nonhydrothermal method was developed for synthesizing hydroxyapatite whiskers under mild conditions. Hydroxyapatite whiskers were synthesized by the hydrolysis of alpha-tricalcium phosphate at 80°C and atmospheric pressure. The effect of aliphatic alcohols on the transformation of alpha-tricalcium phosphate to hydroxyapatite in water-alcohol systems was examined. When the hydroxyapatite was characterized by XRD and TEM observation, its morphology and size were found to vary with the specific alcohol used during hydrolysis. The effect of reaction time on hydrolysis of alpha-tricalcium phosphate to hydroxyapatite also was studied.