Synthesis and structural characterization of silica-hybridized hydroxyapatite with gas adsorption capability

Silica-hybridized hydroxyapatite powder was prepared from a calcium hydroxide and phosphoric acid together with a tetra-n-butyl orthosilicate as the silica source in order to apply it as a gas adsorbent. According to the X-ray diffraction patterns, all peaks were assigned to the hydroxyapatite. No secondary phases, such as calcium hydroxide and silicon oxides, were observed. Moreover, the transmission electron microscope observations indicated that the crystallite size hardly changed by increasing the silicon oxide content. However, the adsorption areas of nitrogen, water and benzene were remarkably dependent on the silicon oxide content. In this paper, in order to explain the change in the adsorption areas, the lattice structure of the silica-hybridized hydroxyapatite is discussed based on the results obtained by the ²⁹Si and ³¹P magic angle spinning-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MAS-NMR).