Issue 3, 2024

Mechanochemical synthesis of zinc-doped hydroxyapatite for tunable micronutrient release

Abstract

Mechanochemical synthesis of Zn-laden calcium hydroxyapatite (HAP) nanocrystals was performed from a chemically precipitated monetite/brushite precursor. ZnCO3 served as the Zn2+ source. Powder XRD results showed that up to 15% ZnCO3 can be incorporated into the HAP lattice during the mechanochemical transformation of the precursors. The resulting spectral properties, as investigated using Raman and infrared spectroscopy, showed stark differences between the mechanochemically prepared sample and the control HAP and ZnCO3 mixed sample. In particular, a peak at 874 cm−1 was observed in infrared and assigned to the HAP-incorporated carbonate ion C–O (ν2) vibration as opposed to ZnCO3 at 834 cm−1 indicating that not only Zn2+ but also CO32− is incorporated into the HAP lattice. Distinct thermal properties were also observed in the thermal analysis of mechanochemically reacted Zn-HAP with the endothermic peak at 235 °C completely absent as opposed to the mixed control of HAP and ZnCO3. Electron microscopy analysis showed ∼10 × 40 nm HAP nanocrystals formed with a uniform Zn2+ ion distribution within them, especially at low 5% ZnCO3 loading. Zn2+ dissolution experiments in soil-relevant 2% citric acid solution showed a distinct delayed dissolution pattern of mechanochemically obtained Zn-HAP with six-fold slower dissolution than that of mixed HAP and ZnCO3, a commonly used zinc supplement. This study presents room-temperature synthesis methods of plant nutrient-laden HAP with tunable dissolution kinetics needed for efficient nutrient uptake.

Graphical abstract: Mechanochemical synthesis of zinc-doped hydroxyapatite for tunable micronutrient release

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
01 Nov 2023
Accepted
22 Apr 2024
First published
23 Apr 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

RSC Mechanochem., 2024,1, 263-278

Mechanochemical synthesis of zinc-doped hydroxyapatite for tunable micronutrient release

M. Ammar, R. Bortoletto-Santos, C. Ribeiro, L. Zhang and J. Baltrusaitis, RSC Mechanochem., 2024, 1, 263 DOI: 10.1039/D3MR00012E

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