From clay research to a nanomaterialSourced
A clay scientist invented one of the early industrial nanomaterials.
Hungarian-born mineralogist Barbara Neumann studied the structures of clays, then developed the synthetic clay laponite at a British company. Patented in 1962, it found uses including paints and became one of the early nanomaterials made on an industrial scale.
Studying ordinary clay led to a material made on a tiny scale.
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Barbara Neumann · Wikimedia contributors
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Reviewed: 2026-10-01