Reverse microemulsion-directed synthesis of hydroxyapatite nanoparticles under hydrothermal conditions

Morphology controllable hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles were synthesized using reverse microemulsion (aqueous solution/TX-100/n-butanol/cyclohexane) systems under hydrothermal conditions. The concentration of cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) contained in the aqueous solution and pH value had significant effect on the morphology and crystal phases of the final products. All the as-synthesized HA nanoparticles had a larger a value but smaller c value compared with the standard values of the JCPDs card. The existence of CTAB could be attributed to the growth of HA along an axis, but inhibit the growth along the c-axis to some extent. A proposed model was established to explain the change of the lattice parameters.