Preparation of uniform newberyite crystal in nonaqueous system

Abstract Newberyite (MgHPO 4 ·3H 2 O) is an important component of magnesium phosphate materials and has significant potential foreground in biomaterial field due to its high chemical stability, biocompatibility and biodegradability. However, newberyite has received lesser attention compare with other magnesium phosphate materials. Nonaqueous synthetic routes to oxide and phosphate materials provide certain advantages, such as a better control of nucleation and crystal growth and higher crystallinity at low temperature. To the best of our knowledge, newberyite synthesized in nonaqueous system has no relevant literature record. Therefore, we report a new method to synthesis newberyite, using MgCl 2 ·6H 2 O as magnesium source and H 3 PO 4 as phosphorous source in nonaqueous system. The method is facile, convenient and without surfactant. The products have a widespread prospect for applying in biomaterial field, such as tissue engineering and bone replacement.