Published online by Cambridge University Press: 26 February 2011
Hydroxyapatite (HAp) fine powders dispersed with zirconia were prepared by hydrothermal techniques at 200°C, under 2 MPa for 10 h. The transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed the homogeneous mixtures of HAp and zirconia.The HAp powders were stoichiometric fine single crystals of about 90 nm × 25 nm in size and the zirconia powders were also fine single crystals of about 10 nm in size. The reactivity between HAp and zirconia was examined. According to the X-ray diffractometry (XRD), decomposition of HAp to B-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) was observed above 800°C then β-TCP was transformed into α-TCP at about 1200°C.