Clay mineralogy: spectroscopic and chemical determinative methods / Минералогия глин: спектроскопические и химические методы определения

A knowledge of clay is important in many spheres of scientific endeavour, particularly in natural sciences such as geology, mineralogy and soil science, but also in more applied areas like environmental and materials science. Over the last two decades research into clay mineralogy has been strongly influenced by the development and application of a number of spectroscopic techniques which are now able to yield information about clay materials at a level of detail that previously would have seemed inconceivable. This information relates not only to the precise characterization of the individual clay components themselves, but also to the ways in which these components interact with a whole range of absorbate molecules. At present, however, the fruits of this research are to be found principally in a somewhat widely dispersed form in the scientific journals, and it was thus considered to be an appropriate time to bring together a compilation of these spectroscopic techniques in a way which would make them more accessible to the non-specialist. This is the primary aim of this book. The authors of the various chapters first describe the principles and instrumentation of the individual spectroscopic techniques, assuming a minimum of prior knowledge, and then go on to show how these methods have been usefully applied to clay mineralogy in its broadest context. The book concludes with two chapters describing a purely chemical approach to the characterization of clays which, although somewhat traditional, is nevertheless considered to be a useful adjunct to the sophisticated physical techniques described beforehand. The philosophy throughout the book has been to try to strike a balance between an introductory text and a research compendium so that it may be useful to scientists with no previous experience of clays as well as to those who are familiar with the problems of investigating these difficult materials. This approach is similar to that adopted in a previous book of this kind (A Handbook of Determinative Methods in Clay Mineralogy, 1987, edited by M. J. Wilson, Blackie, Glasgow) which is now out of print, and in fact Chapters 2, 8 and 9 are updated versions from this work. All other chapters are, however, completely new.  <...>