The influence of stearic acid coating on the properties of magnesium hydroxide, hydromagnesite, and hydrotalcite powders

Hydrated filler-type flame retardants were coated with approximately a monolayer of stearic acid using a solvent technique. Compared to the uncoated powders, the BET surface area was lower, the powder packing density was improved, and the thickening effect on white oil was significantly reduced. The latter two observations are rationalized in terms of a reduction in the attractive interactions between the powder particles. The viscosity of white oil slurries containing 25 wt% solids showed shear-thinning non-Newtonian behavior. The coated powders showed significantly lower viscosities at low shear rates although the difference diminished at high shear rates. The lower viscosities shown by the coated powders indicate that the surface modification facilitated the break-up of agglomerates and the dispersion of individual particles in the fluid.