Geology and Mineralogy of Clays for Nanocomposites: State of Knowledge and Methodology

The present chapter focuses on the scientific and technical research on clay-based nanocomposites. It begins with an introduction reminding the definition of clay nanocomposites reinforcement, the history of evolution of their field of research and development, their properties and their application fields. A synthesis is then presented on the mineralogy of natural clays specifying their classification and their physicochemical properties. This synthesis also includes the geology of argillaceous rocks citing their mode of genesis and their geographical distribution according to climatic zones. The last part of this paper shows, through the example of Morocco, the spatial distribution of clay deposits and the relationship that may exist between the nature of clay minerals of a deposit and its geological context. The note ends with a brief presentation on the different techniques of purification of natural clays and their organophilic transformation to make them finally ready to be used for the preparation of nanocomposites.