Comparison of different methods to prepare MgO whiskers

Magnesia whiskers have been made by hydrolysis of MgCl2–KCl melt and conversion of magnesium hydroxide whiskers. The morphology of MgO whiskers was examined by SEM and TEM. Composition of products was identified by XRD. Comparisons have been made on the morphology and quality of the products by different methods. Discussions have been made on the efficiency, product quality control and scale-up feasibility of these methods. Whiskers prepared by hydrolysis have uniform diameter but other shapes of magnesia are often found. Conversion of Mg(OH)2 whiskers to MgO whiskers is simple and easy to scale-up, but the product often has many defects caused by decomposition. Nevertheless, the single crystal structure can be reserved as revealed by electron diffraction. XRD results show that the purity of products by hydrolysis is better than that by conversion. The conversion method is more hopeful for industrial production.