Effects of power level on characteristics of vacuum plasma sprayed hydroxyapatite coating

In this study, hydroxyapatite coatings were obtained with a vacuum plasma spray system at different power levels that were achieved by altering the plasma current and voltage. The effects of spray power level on coating characteristics were investigated. X-ray diffraction was used to identify the crystallinities of as-sprayed coatings, Electron Probe Microanalysis was employed to detect the surface chemical composition of as-sprayed coatings and Scanning Electron Microscopy revealed the microstructure. The results indicated that spray power greatly affected the crystallinity, chemical composition, and microstructure of as-sprayed hydroxyapatite coatings, which were linked to the melting state of hydroxyapatite powder. Presently at School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiaotong University, 1954 Huashan Road, Shanghai 200030, Republic of China.