Chapter 1 - General Introduction: Clays, Clay Minerals, and Clay Science

Abstract

Clays and clay minerals are recognized as the materials of the twenty-first century. Chapter 1 provides a general introduction into clay science, illustrates the classification of the clay minerals (planar and non-planar 1:1 and 2:1 clay minerals), shows the idealized formulae of some representative clay minerals, lists the current names of clays, and reports the important properties of clay minerals. As yet, there is no uniform nomenclature in clay science, a unifying terminology is proposed that should be acceptable to all disciplines, users, and producers. This mainly concerns the terms “clay and clay mineral“, “associated minerals and associated phases“, “particles and aggregates“, “swelling“, and “delamination and “exfoliation“. Finally, in addition to belonging to the class of silicates, three alternative concepts of clay minerals are proposed to extend the benefit to a wider scientific audience.