Structure and mechanical properties of hydroxyapatite coatings produced on titanium using plasma spraying with induction preheating

Coatings of hydroxyapatite (HAp) were prepared by plasma spraying with induction preheating of titanium substrate from 200 to 1000 °C. The combination of conventional plasma spraying and induction preheating ensured high mechanical properties of HAp coatings. The coatings produced in the temperature range 400-600 °C were characterized by homogeneous nanostructure of splats with an average grain size of 12-31 nm. According to the results of nanoindentation HAp coatings with high hardness 0.9-1.2 GPa and elastic modulus 7-16 GPa were formed on the titanium.