Hydroxyapatite (HAP) was modified
with 1-hydroxyethane-1,1-diphosphonic
acid (HEDP), and its effect on divalent metal ion binding was determined.
HAP was synthesized from calcium hydroxide and phosphoric acid. After
calcination, it was modified with HEDP, and the influence of time
and temperature on the modification was investigated. HEDP incorporation
increased as its initial solution concentration increased from 0.01
to 0.50 M. Unmodified and modified HAP were characterized using Fourier
transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron
microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and specific surface
area analysis. Ca/P ratios, acid capacities, and phosphorus elemental
analyses gave the effect of modification on composition and surface
characteristics. A high reaction temperature produced new phosphonate
bands at 993, 1082, and 1144 cm–1 that indicated
the presence of HEDP. HAP modification at a high temperature–long
reaction time had the highest HEDP loading and gave the sharpest XRD
peaks. The emergence of new HAP–HEDP strands was observed in
SEM images for treated samples while EDS showed high phosphorus contents
in these strands. Modified HAP had a high acid capacity from the additional
P–OH groups in HEDP. The P(O)OH groups maintain their ability
to bind metal ions within the HAP matrix: contacting the modified
HAP with 10–4 N nitrate solutions of five transition
metal ions gives an affinity sequence of Pb(II) > Cd(II) > Zn(II)
> Ni(II) > Cu(II). This result is comparable to that of commercially
available di(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid, a common solvent extractant,
and the trend is consistent with the Misono softness parameter of
metal ion polarizabilities.