The Effect of Power Rate Microwave Heating on Limestone Carbonated Hydroxyapatite Scaffold Using Gas Foaming Method

Abstract

Microwave heating was used with a gas foaming method for fabricating limestone carbonated hydroxyapatite scaffold (SCHA). Carbonated hydroxyapatite (CHA) was produced from limestone as a calcium source using the co-precipitation method. For further treatment, 0.6 gr CHA powder was mixed in 1 ml H2O2 solution as a blowing agent. The slurry-foam-like CHA was heated in a microwave with different levels of heating power from 180 W to 720 W. The SCHA samples were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR), and Scanning electron microscope (SEM). The crystallinity and crystallite size were affected due to different rates of heating power in the microwave-assisted method. The increasing temperature decreased the crystallite size from 37.49 to 33.97(nm). However, other crystallinity trends were observed at 180 W because the lower power heating needed a longer time to be formed SCHA. The different power rates have an insignificant contribution to the morphology of the scaffolds.