Surfactant-assisted synthesis of oriented hydroxyapatite nanoclusters by refluxmethod

Abstract Oriented hydroxyapatite nanoclusters were achieved by reflux method in the presence of non-poisonous and well dissolved surfactant (potassium polyoxyethylene laurylether phosphate, MAEPK). Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) demonstrated uniform sizes of nanorods arranged in parallel to each other along the c-axis and formed partially oriented nanoclusters in the presence of MAEPK. The sizes of each nanoparticle were about 60–80 nm in length and 20 nm in width. MAEPK had an important impact on the morphology of product due to the structure of surfactant and a strong electrostatic interaction between ionized MAEPK and Ca2+ ions. The regulating formation mechanism of hydroxyapatite nanoclusters by MAEPK may extend the understanding of biomineralization process for the preparation of biomimetic materials.