nano-encapsulated iron oxide in zirconium oxide-coated mica pigments are thermally stable,innocuous to human health, non-combustible, and they do not conduct electricity. they could beapplied in several industries such as thermoplastics, cosmetics, food packaging, children toys, paints,automobiles coating, security purposes, and banknotes. nowadays, they are highly desirable inceramic decoratio...

The retention and transport of silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) through a ceramic porous medium used for point-of-use drinking water purification is investigated. Two general types of experiments were performed: (i) pulse injections of suspensions of Ag-NPs in aqueous MgSO4 solutions were applied to the ceramic medium, and effluent silver was quantified over time; (ii) Ag-NPs were applied directly...

One of soil microbiology's most intriguing puzzles is how so many different bacterial species can coexist in small volumes of soil when competition theory predicts that less competitive species should decline and eventually disappear. We provide evidence supporting the theory that low pore connectivity caused by low water potential (and therefore low water content) increases the diversity of a ...

It is widely recognized that global warming promotes soil organic carbon (SOC) decomposition, and soils thus emit more CO2 into the atmosphere because of the warming; however, the response of SOC decomposition to this warming in different soil textures is unclear. This lack of knowledge limits our projection of SOC turnover and CO2 emission from soils after future warming. To investigate the CO...

Visible-near infrared reflectance spectra for five particle size fractions of a Hawaiian palagonite (HWMK101) and a nontronite (ferruginous smectite, Clay Minerals Society source clay SWa-1) were measured under ambient, purged, and heated conditions to characterize the effects of surface and volume scattering on the relationship between absolute H2O content and the strength of the 3 μm absorpti...

Clay-rich fault rocks have long been recognized to host distinctive fabric elements, and fault rock fabric is increasingly thought to play a fundamental role in fault mechanical behaviour in the brittle regime. Although the geometries of fabric elements in fault gouges have been described for almost a century, the genesis and evolution of these elements during shear, and their links to bulk mec...

This paper discusses about preparation of biodegradable polymer /clay nanocomposites based on organically modified montmorillonite clay; i.e. cloisite 10A and biodegradable polymer chitosan by solution mixing technique and their characterization. The nanocomposites were successfully prepared and their structures were characterized by powder x-ray diffraction (XRD), particle size analyzer (Beckm...