SMALL-ANGLE NEUTRON-SCATTERING STUDIES ON NONAQUEOUS DISPERSIONS .5. MAGNESIUM CARBONATE DISPERSIONS IN HYDROCARBON MEDIA

A method is described for the preparation of magnesium carbonate particles in a nonaqueous hydrocarbon environment. The particles were stabilised in the colloidal sense by the adsorption of an alkyl-aryl sulphonic acid. The particle morphology and particle-size distribution were examined by small-angle neutron scattering. It was concluded that the particle structure was of the core-shell type, with a core particle of basic magnesium carbonate, radius ca. 40 angstrom, and a shell of thickness ca. 13 angstrom. The results suggested that the latter was predominantly that of the alkyl-aryl part of the stabilising moiety.