Ultrastructural Characteristics of Talcs Including General Cosmetics

Abstract

In this study, we analyzed the components and microstructure characteristics of four kinds of talc produced within and out of the country using energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscope and scanning electron microscope. By dividing four kinds of talc into domestic and foreign one, we could observe the differences in the particle size as well as in the components of them. For domestic talc, it was observed that the particles were 3 to 90 μm in diameter, which indicated that they were in an irregular form with a big difference in size. Under low-resolution scanning electron microscope, the surface of talc was observed as very rough. On the contrary, the particles of foreign talc were 6 to 18 μm in diameter, indicating that they were in a regular form and quite even in size. Especially, it was observed that the particles of foreign talc made by maker D were 6 to 7.5 μm in diameter, indicating that they were in a very regular form with little differences in size. It was found that under low-resolution examination, the surface of the particle of foreign talc was very smooth and even. When observing the particles of foreign talc under scanning electron microscope, we found that the particle of talc was in a tabular structure and 0.2 to 0.4 μm in thickness. It was also found that foreign talc was layered in a certain thickness of 600 to 700 nm. For the components of talc, as it is known, oxygen (O), magnesium (Mg) and silicon (Si) were found for both domestic and foreign talc and calcium (Ca) was additionally found from domestic talc only.