Sacrificed Carbon-Assisted Synthesis of β-Tricalcium Phosphate Nanostructures

beta-Tricalcium phosphate (beta-TCP) has attracted particular attention in bone tissue engineering because of its excellent biocompatibility, absorbability, and osteoinductivity. In the present study, beta-TCP nanoparticles (NPs) and triangular cones were synthesized by a coprecipitation method combined with calcination under high temperature. Different carbon materials, including graphene oxide (GO) and activated carbon (AC), were employed as the sacrificed support in order to prevent the sintering and agglomeration during high temperature calcination. Monodispersed beta-TCP NPs were obtained using GO as the sacrificed support, while beta-TCP triangular cones were obtained using AC as the sacrificed support. GO not only provided anchoring sites for the nucleation and growth of the precursor through numerous oxygen-containing functional groups on the surface of nanosheets, but also promoted the nucleation and growth of beta-TCP NPs by decreasing phase transformation temperature and time due to excellent thermal conductivity. These results provide a novel strategy using GO as the sacrificed support for the high-temperature synthesis of beta-TCP NPs and other nanomaterials.