Abstract. Calcium phosphates are very important for applications in medicine due to their properties such as biocompatibility and bioactivity. In order to enhance these properties, substitution of calcium with other ions has been proposed. Partial substitution of calcium by different ions has been made in order to improve the properties of the calcium phosphates and also to allow new applications of apatite in medicine. In this work, hydroxyapatite [Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂—HAP] was prepared by high-energy dry milling (20 h) and mixed with iron oxide (5 wt.%). The mixture was calcinated at 900 °C for 5 h with a heating rate of 3 °C min⁻¹ in an attempt to introduce iron oxide into the HAP structure. The sintered sample was characterized using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and magnetization. The ⁵⁷Fe-Mössbauer spectra of the calcium phosphate oxides were also measured, revealing the presence of iron in three different phases: Ca₂Fe₂O₅, Fe₂O₃ and hydroxyapatite.

PACS numbers: 61.05.Qr, 61.66.Fn, 75.50.Bb, 75.60.Ej, 75.60.Nt

Print publication: Issue 5 (November 2009)
Received 14 September 2009, accepted for publication 6 October 2009
Published 4 November 2009