Preparation of magnesium hydroxide nanoplates using a bubbling setup

Magnesium hydroxide [MH] with hexagonal nanoplates were synthesized from lightly calcined magnesia (MgO), nitrogen fertilizer ((NH4)2SO4) and alkaline air (NH3), using a large bubbling setup designed by the authors. The effects of various reaction conditions, including the addition of surfactant, magnesium source, concentration of ions, and initial pH of reaction solution on the morphology, particle sizes, and dispersion properties of the synthesis products were investigated. XRD, SEM, laser particle size analyzer and TG-DTA have been employed to characterize these products. The experimental results showed that the regular-shaped MH products were about 2 μm in mean particle size (D50) and nanometers in thickness, and were loose enough for filtering. The diffraction intensity of the (001) direction was higher than that of the (101) direction. The Mg2+ conversion in the continuous setup reached 71% and the decomposition temperature of products was 404 °C.