MINERAL LIQUID-CRYSTALLINE POLYMERS

This paper presents a survey of the literature on the liquid crystalli ne properties of dispersions of mineral moieties in solvents. The desc ription of various systems, namely vanadium pentoxide, boehmite, imogo lite, beta FeOOH, LiMo3Se3 and montmorillonite clay suspensions, show that the mesomorphism of these mineral polymers can be understood by u sing the same concepts which apply to suspensions of organic moieties. The respective roles of the particle anisotropy and electrical charge are specifically discussed in order to define the molecular features required by mineral moieties to form mesomorphic suspensions. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.