Environmentally benign fabrication of calcium hydroxyapatite using seashells collected in Baltic Sea countries: A comparative study

<p>In this study, high purity crystalline calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂; CHAp) was fabricated from seashells collected in different regions of the Baltic Sea using an environment-friendly water-based sol-gel synthesis route. The phase composition of the synthesized CHAp powders was studied by X-ray diffraction analysis and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The surface morphologies of the precursors and synthesized samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy. A single shell type, Macoma balthica (L.), was collected from various locations around the Baltic Sea. Nevertheless, the resulting CHAp powders had surprisingly large variations in the surface morphology of sol-gel-derived CHAp bioceramics.</p