Fabrication and characterization of fluorapatite ceramic nanofibers

In recent years, there has been a significant amount of investment and research in the field of nanotechnology due to the potential that this field holds for innovation. Nanofibers are a kind of nanomaterials with the diameter of ۵۰-۵۰۰ nm and a length of up to few micrometers. Among the hydroxyapatites, fluorapatite (Ca۱۰(PO۴)۶F۲) has been gathering a lot of attention due to the presence of fluoride increasing its strength and biodegradability as well as inducing bone formation. Fluorapatite has many similarities to hydroxyapatites in terms of its structure and composition but it is superior in terms of its lower solubility in organic solvents, resistance to acids and also their high heat resistance. Due to these unique characteristics, this thesis has explored the synthesis of ceramic fluorapatite nanofibers using sol-gel method mixed with electrospinning. First, PVA is used as a substrate polymer and is mixed separately with NH۴(H۲PO۴), Ca(NO۳)۲ and TBAF result to flexible gel. Electrospinning of the solution using Electroris lead to the fabrication of polymeric nanofibers. Finally, fluorapatite ceramic nanofiber was made by calcination of polymeric nanofibers under controlled temperatures. The products were analyzed using SEM, XRD, EDS, Mapping and FT-IR methods.