Search

Silica is one of the key materials in many modern technological applications. Further miniaturization of nanoelectronic devices necessitates rational design of ultrathin silica films on electrically conductive substrates. This is the first-ever book on the preparation and atomic-level description of ultrathin silica films grown on metal substrates. Experimental and theoretical studies performed in recent years provide compelling evidence of the growth of well-ordered silica films that exhibit the structural motif of sheet silicates. A growing body of research suggests that a singlelayer silicate, which received the name silicatene by analogy with the famous graphene, should be included in the family of truly two-dimensional materials. In addition, the silicate films modified with metals such as Al and Fe offer a unique possibility to study the surface structures (and hence the surface chemistry) of natural silicates, e.g., clays and zeolites. Finally, ultrathin silica films represent well-defined model systems for elucidating the mechanism of crystal-glass transitions.

Do you know silica, the tetrahedra of silicon and oxygen constituting the crystals of New Agers and the desiccant in a box of new shoes? It's no mere mundane mineral. As chemically reacting silicate rocks, silica set off the chain of events known as the origin of life. As biomineralized opal, it is the cell wall, skeleton, spicules, and scales of organisms ornamenting numerous lobes of the tree of life. Cryptocrystalline silica made into stone tools helped drive the evolution of our hands and our capability for complex grammar, music, and mathematics. As quartz crystals, silica is impressively electric and ubiquitous in modern technology (think sonar, radios, telephones, ultrasound, and cheap but precise watches). Silica is inescapable when we take a drink or mow the lawn and it has already started to save the Earth from the carbon dioxide we're spewing into the atmosphere. This book tells these scientific tales and more, to give dear, modest silica its due.