Sinterable powder fabrication of lanthanum silicate oxyapatite based on solid-state reaction method

Sinterable lanthanum silicate oxyapatite (LSO) powders were prepared by the combination of solid-state reaction synthesis and particle size control via planetary ball-milling.We successfully fabricated the LSO ceramics with relative densities exceeding 94% at 1773K even though it was suggested that the densified LSO ceramics could not be obtained below 1923K using a powder synthesized by a solid-state reaction. Impurity phases resulting from contamination due to the ball and pod during the planetary ball milling were, in some cases, detected by the X-ray diffraction analysis of the sintered ceramics. The planetary ball-milling conditions were deemed important for the successful fabrication of the sinterable LSO powder.