Synthesis of Si-Substituted β-Tricalcium Phosphate Ceramics with Controlled Composition

Pure b-tricalcium phosphate (bTCP) and Si-substituted b-tricalcium phosphate powders with compositions ranging from x = 0.01 to 0.20 were synthesized using a wet precipitation method. The results showed that the addition of Si decreased the maturation time of single-phase Si-substituted bTCP. For longer maturation time, other phases were observed such as hydroxyapatite (HA) and a-tricalcium phosphate (aTCP). The Si incorporation was confirmed by X-ray diffraction with Rietveld refinement, indicating an increase of the lattice volume from 3524.88 Å3 for pure bTCP to 3527.41 Å3 with increasing Si content.