Paper Title
Clays as Advanced Material: Nanomaterial Perspectives

Abstract
In conjunction with huge demand in ceramic industry, nanoscale clay materials can be tailored to use as advanced materials such as porous filtration, heat insulators. The outstanding alternating layered crystal structure of clay allows to significantly modify its properties. In this context, a selective local clay was chosen as prospective material and its properties are thoroughly investigated. Compositional analysis by X-ray fluorescence revealed that the clay contains Al2O3 (26.67 %) and SiO2 (66.32 %) as major oxides and impurity oxides include mainly Fe2O3 (2.01%) and TiO2 (2.47 %) with some minor oxides. Mineralogical study employing X-ray diffraction (XRD) exhibited predominantly kaolinite and quartz minerals with minor contents of illite and rutile minerals. Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscopy displayed the micro structural features of clay materials. Size of kaolinite platelets varied from 0.11 m. In addition, particle shape of clay structure was also discerned with size spans from 50  500 nm. The sedimentary local clay resembled ball clay type characteristics though XRD contradicts with well-crystalline structure of kaolinite. Differential thermal analysis confirmed phase transition to meta-kaolionite, mullite and quartz/cristobalite with increasing temperature. The obtained results from various characterization techniques provide an in-depth understanding of its fundamental characteristics to suit it for applications as advanced materials. Index Terms - Nanomaterials, kaolinite, advanced applications, minerological, microstructure