Monetite formed in mixed solvents of water and ethylene glycol and its transformation to hydroxyapatite.

Agglomerated nanorods of hydroxyapatite have been synthesized using monetite as a precursor in a NaOH solution. Monetite consisting of nanosheets has been successfully synthesized by a one-step microwave-assisted method using CaCl(2).2.5H(2)O, NaH(2)PO(4), and sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) in water/ethylene glycol (EG) mixed solvents. The effects of the molar ratio of water to EG and the reaction time on the products were investigated. The products were characterized by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR).