Synthesis of carbonate apatite foam using β-TCP foams as precursors

The present study reports the synthesis of carbonate apatite foam with fully interconnecting pores from βTCP foam by hydrothermal treatment in 1 mol.L^-1 disodium carbonate solution at 200°C. The βTCP foam were prepared; 1) using 3 mol% Mg as βTCP stabilizer, 2) using αTCP foam as a precursor by heat treatment at 900°C for 100 hours. The βTCP foam containing Mg could not transform to carbonate apatite foam completely. Meanwhile, the βTCP foam heat-treated at 900°C transformed to carbonate apatite after hydrothermal treatment for 10 days without morphological change. Compressive strength measurement indicated that the value of carbonate apatite foam derived from βTCP was significantly higher than that from αTCP.