Microplasma arc sprayed hydroxyapatite coatings

Microplasma arc spraying was utilized to deposit hydroxyapatite(HA)powders on Ti6Al4V substrate.Scanning electron microscopye and X-ray diffraction were used to investigate the morphology, phase, and cry stallinity of the HA coatings.Sufficient melting of HA particles and spreading after collision were observed with the increase of arc current and gas flow rate.Within the spraying distance range from 70 mm to 130 mm, the degree of melting of the HA particles increased with the spraying distance.Under appropriate spraying parameters, the crystallinity of microplasma arc sprayed HA coatings was comparable or even higher than the one from conventional atmospheric plasma arc spraying, which is beneficial to the improvement of their stabilities in such liquid environment as body fluids.