Get to know mica in 1 minute

Mica is the general name for mica minerals and is an aluminum silicate of potassium, aluminum, magnesium, iron, lithium and other metals.

1.Mica name

Mica is also known as cloud beads, cloud flowers, cloud Ying, cloud liquid, cloud sand, and phosphorus stone.

2.Mica component

Mica minerals mainly include biotite, muscovite, phlogopite, sericite, lepidolite, green mica, etc. According to the different metal ions contained in mica, the mica family is divided into three subgroups: muscovite subfamily, biotite subfamily and lepidolite. The muscovite subfamily mainly includes the more common muscovite, sericite and the rare soda mica. , the biotite subfamily includes phlogopite and biotite, and the lepidolite subfamily includes lepidolite and iron lithium. The chemical formula of mica is KAl2[AlSi3O10][OH]2, including SiO245.2%, Al2O338.5%, K2O11.8%, H2O4.5%. In addition, it contains a small amount of Na, Ca, Mg, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe and F etc.

3.Mica properties

Mica is a flake or scale-like aggregate; the physical properties of mica mainly depend on the size of the mica crystals, the exfoliation properties determined by cleavage and hardness, and the color transparency and elasticity of the mica. Mica has perfect cleavage and can be peeled. Theoretically, muscovite can be peeled into about 10 pieces, and phlogopite can be peeled into about 5 or 10 flakes. Muscovite flakes are generally colorless and transparent, but are often dyed with green, brown, and yellow. And pink and other tones, glass luster, cleavage surface is pearly luster. Phlogopite is usually yellow, brown, dark brown or black, with glassy luster, and the cleavage surface has pearly or semi-metallic luster. Mica has very poor thermal conductivity, with a melting point of 1200~1300°C and a specific gravity of 2.76~3.10. The hardness is 2~3 on the (001) plane and 4 on the vertical (001) plane; it has excellent insulation and is difficult to dissolve in acid.

4.Mica uses

Muscovite is the most used in industry, followed by phlogopite. It is widely used in the building materials industry, fire protection industry, fire extinguishing agents, welding rods, plastics, electrical insulation, papermaking, asphalt paper, rubber, pearlescent pigments and other chemical industries.