Synthesis of single-crystal HAP nanorods

Single-crystal hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanorods have been successfully synthesized by the reverse microemulsion method, and characterized by high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HRTEM), infrared spectra (IR), and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). In this work, the feasibility of using quaternary reverse microemulsion (TX-100 + CTAB/n-butanol + n-hexanol/cyclohexane/water) to prepare hydroxyapatite nanorods with diameter 8–15 nm and length 25–50 nm, is described. The homogeneity in size and shape of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles observed by TEM is probably attributed to the different stabilization functions of different kinds of surfactant on the interfacial film.