Sintering peculiarities for hydroxyapatite with different degrees of crystallinity.

It has been shown that reduction of sintering temperature of hydroxyapatite is connected to the use of a powder, the particles of which consist of crystalline and amorphous-like constituents. Shrinkage of the pressings made of the powder starts at the middle temperatures (600-700 degrees C) and is realized by a mechanism of a mutual sliding of the particles. If the firing temperature of the pressings increases, the second stage, realized by a diffusion mechanism (over approximately 900 degrees C), begins.

Preparation and properties of inhomogeneous hydroxyapatite ceramics.

Inhomogeneous ceramics of hydroxyapatite (HA) were prepared by sintering briquettes in which an inhomogeneous distribution of density was made by pressing HA powder into a die with rough walls. The resulting sample of such a ceramic is a hard thin shell with a loose core, and it is characterized by an inhomogeneous macro- and microstructure. It is a sintered conglomerate from HA grains containing grain boundary macropores in contact with the surface and micropores located inside the grains, part of which are also associated with the free surface.