Evaluating hydrothermal synthesis of fluorapatite nanorods: pH and temperature

Abstract

In this study, the fluorapatite was synthesised by a hydrothermal technique in different pH and temperature using apricot tree gum surfactant. The fluorapatite was synthesised in different shapes such as spherical, Chrysanthemum flower and rod. The effect of two factors (pH and temperature) on the shape and dimension of synthesised fluorapatite was investigated through the full factorial design. An experimental strategy was developed based on the analysis of variance to create mathematical models for the shape and dimension of synthesised fluorapatite. Findings revealed that the pH of hydrothermal solution is more significant factor than temperature in terms of shape and dimension of the synthesised fluorapatite. It was illustrated that similar nanorods structure to the human tooth enamel can be achieved in pH of 10 and temperature of 70 °C The transmission electron microscopy (TEM), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) spectroscopy were carried out for characterisation of synthesised fluorapatite.

Keywords

• fluorapatite
• nanorods
• apricot tree gum
• hydrothermal
• full factorial design
• ANOVA