Electro-deposited calcium phosphate compounds on graphene sheets: Blossoming flowers

A facile electro-deposition method for the preparation of calcium phosphate - graphene composite (CPG) is proposed and investigated in this paper. Flowerlike calcium phosphate (CaP) compounds grow on graphene sheets during the aqueous electro-deposition. The electro-deposited composite is then investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). To better unveil the structure of CPG, graphene sheets are loaded on the carbon film on copper grid for electrodeposition and following SEM, energy dispersive spectrum (EDS) and, particularly, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) test. The results show that the growth process of CPG resembles blossoming flowers, every petal of which is composed of several thin sheets, and the growth exhibits time dependent morphology development which indicates the high controllability of this preparation method. Furthermore, this method can be utilized in wider applications to prepare CPG coatings on many other materials, such as Mg alloys, a potential candidate for biodegradable materials.