Beschreibung:
<jats:p>Reports of scientific investigations published in <jats:italic>Clays and Clay Minerals</jats:italic> address a wide range of topics covering virtually every physical and natural science and thousands of industrial products and processes worldwide. Even though these nano-sized materials occur naturally throughout the Earth's crust, a large proportion of the studies carried out in the past regarding their origins, nature, and uses, as reported in <jats:italic>Clays and Clay Minerals</jats:italic>, have arisen predominantly from North America and Europe. In recent years, however, manuscript submissions from China have increased appreciably (Figure 1). In the current issue, a number of those studies were selected for a compilation in order to highlight the contributions being made by Chinese colleagues, which gives a glimpse into the types of clay research under way in that country. The manuscripts selected do not, of course, represent a comprehensive treatise of clay research in China, but rather an opportune emphasis that is intended to call attention to the work being done there.</jats:p>