Temperature Effect on Calcium Phosphate Synthesized from Chicken Eggshells and Ammonium Phosphate

Calcium phosphate ceramics such as hydroxyapatite (HAp, Ca10 (PO4)6 (OH)2) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP, Ca3 (PO4)2) are a high potential candidate for hard tissue implants in orthopedic and dental surgeries due to their chemical and structural similarity to bone minerals. Material that shows hydroxyapatite and β-tricalcium phosphate phases is called Biphasic Calcium Phosphate (BCP). In present study, biphasic calcium phosphate was prepared and characterized for future applications on the utilization of bioactivity of HAp and resorbability of β-TCP properties. It was simply synthesized by precipitation method using eggshell as the calcium source (Ca) in the form of calcium nitrate and ammonium phosphate as the phosphate source (P) to obtain biphasic calcium phosphate. The prepared BCP powders and crystal structure were characterized by X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Rietveld refinements and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) techniques. The results indicate that BCP was observed at the calcining temperature of 700 °C and above. Furthermore, the crystallinity of BCP increases with increasing temperature from 700-1200°C. The phase fractions of β-TCP in the temperature range of 700-1200°C was found to be 10, 17, 18, 19, 22 and 23 wt.%, respectively. The formation of BCP may arise from its non-stoichiometric composition of materials or a variation of synthesis parameters.