Clay mineral | Definition, Structure, Composition, Uses, Types ...
Clay mineral, any of a group of important hydrous aluminum silicates with a layer (sheetlike) structure and very small particle size. They may contain significant amounts of iron, alkali metals, or alkaline earths.
Clay mineralogy | Clay Formation, Properties & Uses | Britannica
clay mineralogy, the scientific discipline concerned with all aspects of clay minerals, including their properties, composition, classification, crystal structure, and occurrence and distribution in nature.
Clay mineral - Chemical, Physical Properties | Britannica
Clay mineral - Chemical, Physical Properties: Depending on deficiency in the positive or negative charge balance (locally or overall) of mineral structures, clay minerals are able to adsorb certain cations and anions and retain them around the outside of the structural unit in an exchangeable state, generally without affecting the basic ...
Clay mineral - Origin, Formation, Types | Britannica
Clay mineral - Origin, Formation, Types: All the clay minerals, with the possible exception of halloysite, have been synthesized from mixtures of oxides or hydroxides and water at moderately low temperatures and pressures. Kaolinite tends to form in alumina-silica systems without alkalies or alkaline earths.
Clay mineral - Soil, Sediment, Geology | Britannica
Clay mineral - Soil, Sediment, Geology: All types of clay minerals have been reported in soils. Allophane, imogolite, hydrated halloysite, and halloysite are dominant components in ando soils, which are the soils developed on volcanic ash. Smectite is usually the sole dominant component in vertisols, which are clayey soils.
Clay | Definition, Formation, Properties, Uses, & Facts | Britannica
Dec 19, 2024 · Clay, soil particles the diameters of which are less than 0.005 millimeter; also a rock that is composed essentially of clay particles. Rock in this sense includes soils, ceramic clays, clay shales, mudstones, glacial clays, and deep-sea clays.
Clay mineral - Interactions, Inorganic, Organic | Britannica
Clay mineral - Interactions, Inorganic, Organic: Smectite, vermiculite, and other expansible clay minerals can accommodate relatively large, inorganic cations between the layers. Because of this multivalency, the interlayer space is only partially occupied by such inorganic cations that are distributed in the space like islands.
clay mineral summary | Britannica
clay mineral, Any of a group of important hydrous aluminum silicates with a layered structure and very small (less than 0.005 mm or microscopic) particle size. They are usually the products of weathering. Clay minerals occur widely in such sedimentary rocks as mudstones and shales, in marine sediments, and in soils.
Clay Mineral, Soil Conditioner, Adsorbent - Britannica
montmorillonite, any of a group of clay minerals and their chemical varieties that swell in water and possess high cation-exchange capacities. The theoretical formula for montmorillonite (i.e., without structural substitutions) is (OH) 4 Si 8 Al 4 O 20 ·nH 2 O.
Clay mineral - Interstratified, Sedimentary, Soil | Britannica
Clay mineral - Interstratified, Sedimentary, Soil: Many clay materials are mixtures of more than one clay mineral. One such mixture involves the interstratification of the layer clay minerals where the individual component layers of two or more kinds are stacked in various ways to make up a new structure different from those of its constituents.