Porous hydroxyapatite ceramics fabricated by an ice-templating method

Porous hydroxyapatite (HA) ceramics with lamellar structures have been fabricated by an ice-templating process using as-synthesized and commercial HA powders. The viscosities of the suspensions prepared using the as-synthesized powders were 9–11 times higher than those of the suspensions prepared using the commercial powders. Finer particle size resulted in larger lamellar pore width and a thinner porous ceramic wall, while a much denser ceramic wall, as well as lower porosity and higher compressive strength, was obtained with the commercial powder.