In
this study, we demonstrated that hydroxyapatite (HAp) biomaterial
can be synthesized entirely from biowastes, i.e., eggshells and urine.
Eggshells were cleaned, crushed, and calcined at 900 °C and then
the powder was dissolved in water to form an aqueous calcium hydroxide
solution. The aqueous solution was mixed with synthetic urine (SU)
in stoichiometric amounts corresponding to HAp (Ca/P ratio ∼1.67).
Calcium phosphate (CaP) was potentiostatically synthesized on magnesium
or stainless steel electrode at cathodic potentials (−2 to
−4 V). CaP particles formed on the metal surface at −2
V. The growth of the particles increased as the potential was increased
from −2 to −3 V. However, at −4 V, the particles
formed on the metal surface decreased as a result of excessive hydrogen
evolution on the metal surface disrupting particle adhesion. An increase
in the electrolyte concentration by 3-fold enhanced the particle growth,
but further increase in the concentration by 5-fold did not show any
additional improvement. X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), energy dispersive
X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy
(FTIR) analysis confirmed that the powder formed on the metal sample
was an amorphous CaP. Alkaline treatment at 80 °C for 2 h converted
the amorphous CaP into crystalline HAp.
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