title: Beta tricalcium phosphate ceramics with controlled crystal orientation fabricated by application of external magnetic field during the slip casting process.
abstract: Beta tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) is a resorbable bioceramic that has hitherto been utilized in the medical field. Since it crystallizes in the anisotropic hexagonal system, properties such as chemical and physical ones are expected to depend on its crystal axis direction and/or on its crystal plane (anisotropy). Control of crystal orientation is thus important when used in polycrystalline form. Meanwhile, application of a strong magnetic field has been found to be a promising technique to control crystal orientation of anisotropic shape or structured crystals. In this work, we attempted to fabricate β-TCP ceramics with controlled crystal orientation by applying an external magnetic field during the slip casting process and subsequently sintering them at 1050°C, below the β-α transition temperature. Application of a vertical magnetic field increased intensities of planes perpendicular to c-plane on the top surface, while a horizontal one with simultaneous mechanical mold rotation decreased it. These results indicated that crystal orientation of β-TCP ceramics were successfully controlled by the external magnetic field and together that the magnetic susceptibility of β-TCP is χ(c[perpendicular])>χ(c//).
authors.affiliation: Division of Materials Science and Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan. bb_nba-dreamer1@katch.ne.jp
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hagio
authors.forename: Kazushige
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yamauchi
authors.forename: Takenori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kohama
authors.forename: Toshiya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuzaki
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Iwai
mesh_terms: D002130:Calcium Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry*; D002516:Ceramics; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D060526:Magnetic Fields; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning
chemical_list: D002130:Calcium Phosphates; C485817:beta-tricalcium phosphate