Clay Minerals: Structure and Properties

This lecture covers the characteristics and properties of clay minerals, focusing on their structure, composition, and behavior in different environments. It explains the differences between mineralogical clays and granulometric clays, detailing their atomic arrangements and layer structures. The lecture also discusses the specific areas of clay minerals, their ability to change volume with humidity, and the adsorption of water molecules on their surfaces. Furthermore, it explores the origins of charges in clay minerals, including isomorphic substitutions and bond breaks, and their environmental consequences. The session concludes with a series of questions addressing the formation of organo-metallic complexes, mineralization processes, and the swelling power of montmorillonite.