Well dispersive and single crystal calcium titanate (CaTiO3) whisker with a length of 50-100μm was synthesized by sintering the mixture of calcium chloride and titanium dioxide with improvement of adding the mineralization agent of Pb(Ac)2.3H2O. The as-prepared samples were characterized by XRD, SEM. The optimum synthesis condition and the effect of the mineralization agent were discussed respectively. In the end, the possible reaction process was given and a LS growth mechanism was proposed.

Rutile titanium dioxide whiskers with diameter around 2μm and length up to 45μm have been successfully synthesized via a facile flux method, using anatase titanium dioxide as raw material and a mixture of ZnSO47H2O and Na2SO4 as flux. The products were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microcopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). It turned out that the calcined temperature and the type of flux addition affected the crystal phase and morphology of the final product greatly. The results showed that rutile titanium dioxide whiskers obtained at 850 °C for 4 hours had the most uniform morphology. The possible growth mechanism was briefly discussed.

A type of calcium borate whiskers with highly thermal stability was synthesized by hydrothermal method at 180 °C for 2 h, using borax, calcium chloride and sodium hydroxide as raw reactants. The X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) indicated that as-prepared products were composed of monoclinic Ca2B2O5·H2O phase. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images showed calcium borate whiskers with a length of 50~100 μm and diameter 1.0 ~3.0 μm. Selected-area electron diffraction (SAED) pattern showed that the calcium borate whiskers were single crystalline structure. The adjustment of temperature of hydrothermal reaction, can lead to obvious morphology changes of products, and the possible chemical reaction and growth mechanism were proposed. Furthermore, the analysis of thermogravimetry (TG) showed the calcium borate whiskers released crystal water at 370~425 °C.

Being a new whisker products with high performance to price ratio, magnesium borate whiskers with a length of 10 - 50μm and a diameter of 0.5 - 2μm were prepared by molten salt and characterized by XRD, FT - IR, SEM and chemical titration. The experiments show that the synthesis conditions are as follows: raw materials ratio: Mg:B:flux =1:11.05:1-3.5(mol); reaction temperature: 800 - 950°C;reaction time:6 - 10hours; flux: NaCl、KCl or NaOH.

To improve the strength and toughness performance of PVC, the resin reinforced with magnesium borate whiskers (MBOW ) were prepared by mixing whiskers into liquid PVC at room temperature. The effects of borate coupling agent (SBW-III) and contents of MBOw (0~30wt%) on tensile of PVC and composites were studied. The compatibility, hydrophilicity and morphology of MBOw/PVC composites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy ( FTIR), surface contact angle measurement and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) respectively. The results show that both the chemical bonding and physically adsorbed layers exist between MBOw and SBW-III. The surface of modified MBOw is hydrophobic which improves the binding force between PVC and treated MBOw, and the dispersibility of MBOw in PVC significantly. The tensile and the elastic modulus of the SBW-III-treated MBOw /PVC composites increase in comparison to that of the composites filled with untreated MBOw.