CRYSTALLIZATION BEHAVIOR OF MAGNESIUM SALTS: A SUMMARY OF SOME EXPERIMENTAL OBSERVATIONS

Abstract

Some efficient methods have been developed to chemically prepare some magnesium salt products with multiscale morphologies such as MgCO 3·3 H 2 O and 5 Mg ( OH )2· MgSO 4·2 H 2 O whiskers, Mg 5( CO 3)4( OH )2·4 H 2 O microplates and aggregates, and Mg ( OH )2 plates and spheres. The crystallization processes of the as-prepared products were studied by designing different reaction routes and corresponding growth morphologies. In these solution chemical systems, Mg 2+ cation was found to be easily coordinated by various ligands, and can be easily transformed into various compounds with variable compositions. The current crystallization observations of some magnesium salts can be readily simulated by the chemical bonding theory of single crystal growth. These results can guide the further studies of various magnesium salts with controllable morphologies.