Glauber, the dude who discovered Glauber’s Salt, precipitated #potassium-silicate using ferrous chloride — in 1646! I guess the “chemical garden” he produced was made of fayalite #olivine — or does fayalite have a softer hydrated version, like talc? (Apparently serpintinization turns fayalite into magnetite, silica, and hydrogen, so probably not.)
on 02015-08-30apparently you can dissolve #potassium-silicate in water more easily than sodium-silicate #waterglass, which usually requires pressure cookers to dissolve it. Also apparently potassium-silicate binders make mortar #thixotropic!
on 02015-08-30Hmm, #potassium-silicate paint is already a thing! Like, since 1878.
on 02015-08-30PQ says a NASA patent discloses how to produce a high-mole-ratio #potassium-silicate, patent 4,162,169. #patents
on 02015-08-30Goodness, this "potassium silicate" sounds a great deal easier to produce than #waterglass; potash plus silica at 90°C! And it should still work as a silicate donor for insoluble silicates like calcium or magnesium silicate.
on 02015-08-30