Controlled synthesis of dental enamel-like hydroxyapatite whiskers via hydrothermal homogeneous precipitation

Dental enamel-like hydroxyapatite whiskers with high crystallinity and homogeneous morphology were synthesized by a hydrothermal homogeneous precipitation method. The composition, crystallinity and morphology of prepared hydroxyapatite whiskers were characterized by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The effects of urea and sorbitol on their morphology and composition were investigated. Homogeneous and well crystallized enamel-like hydroxyapatite whiskers with 1.17±0.08 μm in length and 84±14 nm in width were obtained at 0.80 mol·L^-1 urea and 0.26 mol·L^-1 sorbitol. These hydroxyapatite whiskers may be close to nature hydroxyapatite dental enamel in terms of the morphology and composition, suggesting that they could have potential application as dental restorative materials in the field of stomatology.