Facile, scale-up, and controllable fabrication of lamellar-like Mg(OH)(2) on a magnesium substrate through natural oxidation of Mg metal in formamide/water mixtures has been demonstrated. The one-step, wet-chemical approach has displayed well-controlled growth of densely packed magnesium hydroxide with large-area homogeneity and uniform morphology. The chemical-liquid-deposition process, an analogue to the widely used chemical-vapor-deposition technique, has been well developed for production of specific morphological Mg(OH)(2) through continuous supply, transport, and thermal decomposition of magnesium complexes in a liquid phase. The formation mechanism of lamellar-like Mg(OH)(2) was also discussed based on experimental phenomena. (C). 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.