Synthesis and growth mechanism of whisker-like Mg2B2O5 crystals by an easy and environmentally hospitable non-aqueous ionic liquid method

An environmentally hospitable NaCl non-aqueous ionic liquid method has been employed to prepare single crystalline whisker-like Mg₂B₂O₅ crystals, which were synthesised by annealing a ground mixture of H₃BO₃, MgCl₂·6H₂O, NaCl and surfactant nonylphenyl ether (9) at 850°C for 2 h. The systemically comparative experiments have been performed to understand the formation mechanism of whisker-like Mg₂B₂O₅ crystals. The results demonstrated that both non-aqueous ionic liquid and nonylphenyl ether (9) played vital roles in the formation of whisker-like Mg₂B₂O₅ crystals. Based on the experimental results and analysis, a reasonable growth mechanism of whisker-like Mg₂B₂O₅ crystals is proposed. This reported work opens up a relative low-temperature strategy for the synthesis of single crystalline whisker-like Mg₂B₂O₅ crystals.