Production of HAP coating on 316L stainless steel substrates by sol-gel technique

In recent years, synthetic hydroxyapatite (HAP) has attracted much interest because of the quest for new generation implants able to promote rapid osteointegration and having longer lifetimes. HAP a major inorganic component of bone, has been increasingly used as a bioceramic coating for load-bearing implants to improve fixation to natural bone tissue. In this study, HAP coating was synthesized using a sol-gel processing on 316L stainless steel substrate and heat treated at different calcination temperatures. The formation of HAP and other compounds were identified and characterized using X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). It was found that crystallinity, structure and morphology of the coatings varied depending on calcination temperature of the layer. The surface morphology of the HAP coating calcined at 500°C displayed porous and crack free structure.