Preparation of crystalline Mg(OH)2 nanopowder from serpentinite mineral

In this paper we describe a route to produce crystalline Mg(OH)(2) nanopowders from serpentinite ore distributed in the Halilovskiy array (Russia, Orenburg region). An efficient extraction route consisting of treatment on serpentinite in 40% HNO3 at 80 degrees C followed by NH4OH titration for Mg(OH)(2) precipitation was demonstrated. In this study, crystalline Mg(OH)(2) nanopowders have been synthesized by solvothermal reaction method using (Mg(NO3)(2) center dot 6H(2)O)which were obtained from serpentinite, NH4OH as a precipitator, and hydroxyethylated nonylphenol as surface-active substance. Microstructure and phase composition of samples were investigated employing scanning electron microscopy (SEM)and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray phase analysis (XRD), and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). XRD reveals that Mg(OH)(2) nanopowder with high purity has the brucite structure. It was found that crystalline Mg(OH)(2) nanopowders exclusively consist of lamellar-like structures and the sizes of Mg(OH)(2) are 30-265 nm length or width. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of China University of Mining & Technology.