Mechanism of Magnesium Oxide Hydration Based on the Multi-Rate Model

The hydration of different active MgO under an unforced and ultrasonic condition was conducted in this paper to investigate the chemical kinetics model of the apparent reaction and discuss the mechanism combined with the product morphology. The dynamics fitting result shows that both the first-order and multi-rate model describe the hydration process under ultrasound well, while only the multi-rate model was right for the hydration process under an unforced condition. It indicated that the rate order of hydration was different in the hydration process under an unforced condition. The XRD and SEM show that the MgO hydration was a process of dissolution and crystallization. Part of the magnesium ions produced by dissolution of MgO did not diffuse into the solution in time, and adhered to the magnesium oxide surface and grew in situ instead. As a result, the difference in the hydration rate of the remaining MgO particles becomes wider and not in the same order (order of magnitude). The ultrasonic cavitation could prevent the in-situ growth of Mg(OH)₂ crystal nuclei on the surface of MgO. It not only greatly improved the hydration rate of MgO and produced monodisperse Mg(OH)₂ particles, but also made the first-order kinetics model fit the hydration process of MgO well.