Sol-derived Hydroxyapatite Ddip-coating of a Porous Ti6Al4V Powder Compact
<p>A sintered porous Ti<sub>6</sub>Al<sub>4</sub>V powder compact with a mean pore size of 63 μm and an average porosity of 37±1% was dip-coated at soaking times varying between 1- and 5-minute using a sol-derived calcium Hydrooxyapatite (HA) powder. The coated compacts were heat-treated at 840 <sup>o</sup>C. The coating thickness was found to increase with increasing soaking time, from 1.87 μm at 1-minute soaking to 9 μm at 5-minute soaking on the average. It was shown that at increasing soaking times, the originally open pores started to close, while at low soaking times the Ti<sub>6</sub>Al<sub>4</sub>V particles were partially coated. The coating layer was shown to be nanoporous and the depth of coating was observed to be relatively shallow: only few particles near the compact surface were HA-coated.</p>