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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 January 2011
We report the structural transformation and the transport studies of Silver doped hydroxyapatites Ca10-xAgx(PO4)6(OH)2 (0.0 ≤ x ≤ 1.5). A dramatic increase in the conductivity by two orders of magnitude for hydroxyapatite in presence of silver ions is recorded using impedance spectroscopy measurements in the temperature range of 450°C to 650°C. The characteristic surface plasmon resonance effect is used to explore the presence of silver nano-particles, and Ag+ ions in hydroxyapatite using optical absorption measurements. The activation energy has been found to be 0.07 eV in silver doped composition in comparison to 0.39 eV for the parent hydroxyapatite. The sintering temperature dependence and compositional variation on the structural transformations from hydroxyapatite into tricalcium phosphate phases have been explored using Raman Spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction techniques.