Thin Sections: The Past Serving The Future
A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Crystallography and Physical Chemistry of Minerals & Nanominerals".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2025 | Viewed by 1990
Special Issue Editors
Interests: archaeometry; crystallography; magnetism; petrography; physical–chemical characterization; X-ray microdiffraction; Raman microscopy (RM); magnetic nanoparticles; 3D-printing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: archaeometry; petrography of archaeological materials; pottery; glazes; marbles; X-ray microdiffraction; Raman microscopy (RM)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The introduction of thin-section (~30 μm in thickness) samples to mineralogical studies occurred alongside the development of the petrographic microscope in the mid-19th century. In optical mineralogy and petrography, the use of the polished thin sections is very common within the study of a wide variety of materials, including rocks, minerals, soils, slag, mudbrick, and clays. However, in some scientific circles both thin sections and the petrographic microscope are sometimes perceived as archaic tools, not yet fully obsolete but far from cutting-edge science.
Tools of the past? Nothing could be further from the truth. Over the last ten years, the use of thin sections in combination with hyper-spectral elemental, molecular, and structural methods has revealed new ways of examining samples. The capabilities of these techniques can be significantly improved when combined with thin sections. The use of thin-section enhances data quality with easier correlations between data produced by different techniques and improved control over measured sample regions. Other sample supports such as cross-sections are easier to produce, but it is often difficult to see what is being measured.
Originating in the early to mid-19th century and specifically used to investigate rocks in the field of geosciences, thin sections are a sample support that can be applied in many other fields, artistic (stone, ceramics, wood, pigments), construction (concrete, mortar), and technological among others. In this Special Issue, we will collate papers that demonstrate, in a wide variety of contexts and domains, the versatility and usefulness of thin sections in characterizing natural or artificial crystalline materials. We are particularly interested in combinations of this sample support with local probe analytical equipment.
Dr. Lluís Casas
Dr. Roberta Di Febo
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
