Hydrothermal Synthesis and Characterization of Magnesium Borate Hydroxide Nanowhiskers

Magnesium borate hydroxide (MgBO2(OH)) nanowhiskers with a diameter of 20–50 nm and a length of 0.5–3 μm were synthesized via a facile hydrothermal route, using MgCl2·6H2O, H3BO3, and NaOH as the reactants. Mg7B4O13·7H2O with poor crystallinity was formed after coprecipitation of the reactant solutions at room temperature, the hydrothermal treatment of the slurry at 240 °C for 18 h led to the formation of uniform MgBO2(OH) nanowhiskers with high crystallinity and preferential growth direction along the (200) plane.