Novel ultraviolet emitting low energy nitrogen ion implanted magnesium ion incorporated nanocrystalline calcium phosphate

• First report on nitrogen ion implanted Mg2+ ion incorporated HAp.
• First report on ultraviolet emitting rare earth-free biocompatible material.
• A novel material for the fabrication of UV-LED.
• Crystallite size and resistivity were considerably reduced on implantation.
• The pore size and wettability could be engineered.

The effect of low energy nitrogen ion (N+) implantation on microwave synthesized magnesium ion incorporated hydroxyapatite (HAp-Ca10(PO4)6(OH)2) was analyzed with fluences of 1×1014, 1×1015 and 1×1016 ions/cm2. The implant enhanced surface roughness, pore size (35%) and bioactivity along with a considerable decrease in the crystallite size (21%) and resistivity. Enhanced photoluminescence (PL) at 352 nm was observed at 1×1014 ions/cm2. The surface turned to hydrophilic and hydrophobic at lower fluence (<1×1014 ions/cm2) and higher fluence (>1×1016 ions/cm2) respectively. Ion implantation is a cost-effective and rapid technique to modify the surface of magnesium ion incorporated HAp. The ion implanted sample has multifunctional properties and could be used for biomedical, biosensing applications and also utilized as a novel environmental friendly, rare-earth free ultraviolet phosphor material.