| Abstract: | Spherulitic monetite (CaHPO4) and brushite (CaHPO4 · H2O) of different morphologies which have close resemblance to those found in pathological joints, stones and dental calculi were crystallized in silica gel under acidic conditions. These crystals were characterized by x-ray powder diffraction, fourier transform infra-red, and thermogravimetric analyses. The molar ratios (Ca/P) were calculated from ICP analysis and found to be in agreement with the theoretical stoichiometric molar ratio. The microstructure of the spherulitic monetite crystals have been studied using scanning electron microscopy. |
