Homogeneous mixtures of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ)
nanoparticles were successfully synthesized using chemical co-precipitation and subsequent
calcination. For the synthesis of HAp/YSZ nanopowder, the Ca/P atomic ratio was
1.73 to obtain high-content stoichiometric hydroxyapatite phase and to suppress
β-tricalcium
phosphate (β-TCP) formation. The agglomerated crystalline powders were milled using YSZ ball media
to obtain well-separated nanoparticles. The final particle size of the HAp and YSZ was
∼50–70
and ∼15–30 nm, respectively. The crystallinity and morphological feature of the nanopowder was
analysed using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron
microscopy (HRTEM) analyses. The ball-milled nanopowder mixture was hot pressed at
1100 °C
for 1 h under 20 MPa in vacuum atmosphere. The sintered HAp/YSZ nanocomposites exhibited
approximately 99% of the theoretical density, due not only to the fine nanoscale of the
particles, but also to the homogeneous distribution of the nanoparticle mixture. They also
showed fine grain structures of the HAp phase due to the suppressed grain growth by YSZ
particles. The nanocomposites showed improved mechanical properties, flexural strength of
∼155 MPa and fracture
toughness of ∼2.1 MP m1/2, due to the YSZ contribution to the HAp matrix.