Minerals as Advanced Materials

A revolution is taking place in the world of materials science driven by the massive investment that has taken place in nanotechnology and the rapid learnings in the area of Biomimetics. The latter relates to the understanding of how nature makes high-strength high-barrier materials such as sea-shells, teeth and bone that are often as much as 98% fine particle sized mineral, and replicating those structures in the lab.

One of the more powerful tools has been the use of the atomic force microscope that has Provided a deeper insight into the surface chemistry and has overturned many of the concepts derived from classical colloid chemistry techniques. It is now possible to distinguish the three different surfaces of kaolinite a aluminum hydroxide, Silicate and the broken bonded edges. In addition crystal chemistry modeling and measurements have identified the hydrophobic nature of the silicate surface which is slightly depressed in function compared with talc, due to isomorphic substitutions that Give rise to exchangeable cations with associated spheres of hydration.

In 2011 the Federal Government launched the Materials Genome Initiative, which looks to understand ways to use fundamental building blocks of materials for unique purposes.  Tools such as atomic force microscopy and advanced electron microscopy allow us to see materials down to the atomic scale, and have led to a deeper understanding of commodity clay minerals such as kaolin, mica and talc as building blocks with many potential applications. Today, minerals are processed through refineries that select particles not only by particle size but also by shape. As a result we are seeing a range of novel minerals-based coating being developed for barrier- and strength-applications in packaging. 

The potential of these minerals has only just begun to be tapped. For further reading, please refer to the slide deck below, or the topics linked at the bottom of this page.