Simple, eco-friendly, continuous, and straightforward flame aerosol synthesis of single-phase nanoporous monetite biomaterials

Abstract

In recent years, monetite (CaHPO4) has gained broad attention for its potential in different applications, specifically orthopedic and dental applications. This rapid communication reports, for the first time, a one-step continuous synthesis pathway for nanoporous monetite particles, which can also be classified as an eco-friendly method. The method is a flame-based aerosol process; thus, the particles are generated via a gas-phase process. However, it was found that the pathway to single-phase monetite involves reactions between the precursor components already in the liquid phase, which also need to be taken into account. Specifically, the residence time in liquid-phase environment prior to spraying should be considered for synthesizing the single-phase monetite. Consequently, single-phase nanoporous monetite particles (with two different morphologies: spherical and plate-like) were successfully synthesized using only deionized water as the solvent, without the need for surfactants, by optimizing the synthesis parameters and the residence time in the liquid phase.