Occurrence of nitrogenous species in precipitated B-type carbonated hydroxyapatites.

B-type carbonated hydroxyapatites, prepared in aqueous media free of alkali ions, fix ammonium ions present in the reaction medium. A small portion of the carbonate ions introduced into the apatite structure enter by the substitution mechanism (CO3(2-), NH4+)----(PO4(3-), Ca2+). With these results for the structural incorporation of ammonium ions, differences in lattice parameters observed among specimens with the same degree of carbonation were attributed to some substitution of NH4+ for Ca2+. The fixed ammonium ions were shown to be the source of the cyanamide and cyanate ions that develop on heating. Above 500 degrees C these apatites lost both the carbonate and the cyanate and cyanamide ions.