Some optical and microstructure characteristics of effective cost ZnO-containing hydroxyapatite

Metal oxide like zinc oxide (ZnO) is recognized to be one of the versatile inorganic compounds due to its physical properties. Crystalline compositions, morphology, particle size, and chemical bonds of pure hydroxyapatite (HA) and ZnO/HA were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM and TEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Raman scattering detected crystalline and bond structure. Nanocomposites were crystallized in a main monoclinic phase of HA and a minor hexagonal phase of ZnO with particle size (18–29 nm) and grain size (75–200 nm) for the synthesized samples were identified. Moreover, the existence of the phosphate, carbonate ions, and hydroxyl groups in the HA and its composites structure was assured by the FT-IR assessment. The optical bandgap (Eg) of HA showed two transitions at 3.24 and 4.37 eV; these values decreased with the incorporation of ZnO. The determining optical and photoluminescence properties confirmed the presence of ZnO content in the HA matrix.