Synthesis, Properties, and Applications of Expandable Layer Silicates
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: closed (20 December 2020) | Viewed by 7276
Special Issue Editor
Interests: clay minerals; silicates; adsorption; intercalation; catalysis; gas-trapping; ion exchange; deflocculation; chemical garden
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Expandable layer silicates (ELS) are formed by compact layers characterized by two-dimensional tetrahedral sheets sandwiching an octahedral one. Sheets are held together by interatomic chemical bonds, while much weaker interactions connect the different layers. The most striking feature of these structures is that the region between two adjacent layers (interlayer space) can change to accommodate a variety of guest species, either organic or inorganic.
ELS are ubiquitous natural minerals holding peculiar features, but they can also be synthesized to obtain new structures for materials with specific properties. ELS are extremely appealing as versatile scaffolds to yield functional hybrid materials for applications in many novel and advanced areas. As naturally abundant geogenic or modified/synthetic materials, ELS have so far found applications for a variety of purposes as polymer/layered silicate nanocomposites, nanoclays, drug carriers, and flame retardants. For this reason, they are gaining increasing interest among scientists in several fields, such as physical chemistry of the liquid or gas/mineral interface, catalysis, drug delivery, (bio)molecules assembly and adhesion, environment, health, rheology, and chemical synthesis.
This Special Issue is intended for publication of both original works and reviews in the field of the structure, synthesis, and application of natural and synthetic ELS. Manuscripts concerning the applications in the field of hybrid materials, biomedicine, removal of pollutants and hazardous chemicals, polymer/layered silicate nanocomposites, and rheology are welcome, as well as basic experimental or computational studies on the structure, modification, and synthesis of these minerals. The purpose of this issue is to offer a broad overview of the state of the art in the field of ELS, through an interdisciplinary approach ranging from mineralogy to chemistry, including technology, medicine, materials, biology, and industrial applications.
Dr. Elena Castellini
Guest Editor
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Keywords
- intercalation
- adsorption
- pillared clays
- polymer/layered silicates
- removal
- delivery
- clay functionalization
- nanoclays
- nanocomposites
- crystal chemistry
- atomistic models
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