Influences of Reaction Parameters and Ce Contents on Structure and Properties of Nano-scale Ce-HA Powders

Ce-incorporated apatite (Ce-HA) nano-scale particles with different Ce percentage contents (atomic ratio of Ce to Ce + Ca is 5%, 10% and 20%, respectively) were synthesized via a simple wet chemical method in this study. The crystal structure, chemical groups, thermal stability, crystal morphologies and crystal sizes of the Ce-HA nano-particles were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The influences of reaction temperature, reaction time, pH value, and the atomic ratio of Ce to Ce + Ca on the structure and performance of Ce-HA particles were studied. The results show that the lattice constants, particle sizes, crystallinity and thermal stability of Ce-HA vary with the doped Ce contents. With the increase of Ce content, the lattice constants of the Ce-HA nano-particles remarkably increase but the particle size, crystallinity and thermal stability gradually decrease. The reaction temperature as well as the reaction time has no significant effect on the properties of the final products, while the pH value has a direct relationship with their final chemical composition. The obtained Ce-HA nano-size particles possess potential application in preparing artificial bone implants, bone tissue engineering scaffold and other bioactive coatings.