LAUSR

Abstract Increasingly more attention has been paid to morphological studies of biomaterials and the physicochemical and biological properties thereof in various applications. Herein, the morphology of hydroxyapatite (HAP) has been evolved into three morphologies (short rod-, flake flower-, and dandelion-like) by using different surfactants under hydrothermal treatments. Moreover, the influences of morphology on selective adsorption of heavy metal ions and antibacterial activity were evaluated in detail. The results showed that selective adsorption of heavy metal ions by HAP was dependent on the morphology, but was independent of the antibacterial activity. Also, morphological evolution mechanism, influencing factors for adsorption, kinetics, isotherms and possible adsorption mechanisms were discussed in this study. The maximum adsorption capacities under the Langmuir model were also shown to depend on the morphology of HAP, with the highest adsorption capacity reaching up to 819.7 mg g− 1 for dandelion-like structures, which may resulted from such structures having multi-adsorbing sites. In sum, the study provides a material having specific morphologies for high-efficient and selective removal of Pb2 +, and offers guidance for modification of antibacterial activity of biomaterials.