Smectite clays are hydrated layer silicates that, like micas, occur naturally in abundance. Importantly, they have readily modifiable interlayer spaces that provide excellent sites for nanochemistry. Vermiculite is one such smectite clay and in the presence of small chain-length alkyl-NH(3)Cl ions forms sensitive, 1-D ordered model clay systems with expandable nano-pore inter-layer regions. The...

Many people in sub-Saharan Africa have to rely on meager water resources within mudstones for their only water supply. Although mudstones have been extensively researched for their low permeability behavior, little research has been undertaken to examine their ability to provide sustainable water supplies. To investigate the factors controlling the occurrence of usable ground water in mudstone ...

Acanthomorphic acritarch fossils, including some interpreted to be the fossils of the earliest animal embryos, first appear in the lower Doushantuo Formation of the Yangtze Gorges area (YGA). Further, the complete paleontological and geochemical record for the YGA has played a central role in defining the global biological and geochemical backdrop that presaged and witnessed the dawn of diverse...

Nanocomposites of layered silica nanoparticles (LSN) obtained by the sol–gel method, and commercial montmorillonite clay Cloisite®20A with polypropylene (PP) and Cloisite®30B with polyamide-6 (PA6) were prepared by melt blending in order to study their effects on barrier, mechanical properties, and thermal stability. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed that all of the nanocomposites p...

A B S T R A C T: The K~mpf & Schwertmann (1982) procedure for concentrating iron oxides in soil clays by dissolution of kaolin and gibbsite by boiling for 1 h in 5 M NaOH may not dissolve all kaolin, and also results in the precipitation of sodalite. For the complete dissolution of kaolin in kaolin-rich soil clays a boiling time of 2 h in 5 M NaOH was required. The large amounts of sodalite pro...