The rise and rise of halloysite

Abstract

Up until about 2005, the main application of halloysites had been as an alternative raw material to kaolinite for ceramics. Since then, however, there has been an exponential increase in studies aimed at applications of halloysite nanotubes, now widely referred to as HNTs. The readily available and relatively cheap nanotubular forms of halloysite have potential uses in nanocomposites with polymers, as carriers for active agents, e.g. in medicine, agriculture, cosmetics and environmental remediation, as well as in nanotemplating, as supports for catalyst immobilization and as heterogeneous catalysts.