Halloysite Nanotubes: An ‘Aluminosilicate Nanosupport’ …
129
Fig. 2 Types of Guest Molecules on Halloysite Nanotubes for energy and environmental
applications
of HNT. A ‘guest molecule’ can be defined as any foreign molecule or group that is
not a part of pristine HNT, and has been immobilized or attached on HNT’s layers via
external agents. In the past, different researchers have immobilized myriad types of
guests on HNT for diverse applications. Guests such as drugs, vaccines, antioxidants
and corrosion inhibitors have been introduced on the surface of HNT (Lvov et al.
2016). Nanoparticles of silver (Rawtani et al. 2013) and gold (Rawtani and Agrawal
2012b, c) have been introduced on HNT’s surface to study the interaction of such
composite with DNA. Biological molecules such as enzymes (Pandey et al. 2017a)
and hormones (Lvov et al. 2008) have also been immobilized as guests on HNT.
As far as energy and environmental applications are concerned, several commonly
used guest molecules have been depicted in Fig. 2. These molecules mainly include
reactive functional moieties, primarily from organosilanes (Zeng et al. 2016) and
surfactants (Jinhua et al. 2010); biomolecules such as dopamine (Hebbar et al. 2016)
and enzymes (Pandey et al. 2017a); biopolymers, mainly chitosan ( Peng et al. 2015);
and nanoparticles (Afzali and Fayazi 2016).
3 Energy and Environmental Applications of Halloysite
Nanotubes
In Sect. 2.1, the different kinds of guest molecules that are immobilized on HNT have
been discussed. The guest molecules provide versatile properties to HNT and thereby
increase its applicability for energy and environmental applications. In this section,
129
Fig. 2 Types of Guest Molecules on Halloysite Nanotubes for energy and environmental
applications
of HNT. A ‘guest molecule’ can be defined as any foreign molecule or group that is
not a part of pristine HNT, and has been immobilized or attached on HNT’s layers via
external agents. In the past, different researchers have immobilized myriad types of
guests on HNT for diverse applications. Guests such as drugs, vaccines, antioxidants
and corrosion inhibitors have been introduced on the surface of HNT (Lvov et al.
2016). Nanoparticles of silver (Rawtani et al. 2013) and gold (Rawtani and Agrawal
2012b, c) have been introduced on HNT’s surface to study the interaction of such
composite with DNA. Biological molecules such as enzymes (Pandey et al. 2017a)
and hormones (Lvov et al. 2008) have also been immobilized as guests on HNT.
As far as energy and environmental applications are concerned, several commonly
used guest molecules have been depicted in Fig. 2. These molecules mainly include
reactive functional moieties, primarily from organosilanes (Zeng et al. 2016) and
surfactants (Jinhua et al. 2010); biomolecules such as dopamine (Hebbar et al. 2016)
and enzymes (Pandey et al. 2017a); biopolymers, mainly chitosan ( Peng et al. 2015);
and nanoparticles (Afzali and Fayazi 2016).
3 Energy and Environmental Applications of Halloysite
Nanotubes
In Sect. 2.1, the different kinds of guest molecules that are immobilized on HNT have
been discussed. The guest molecules provide versatile properties to HNT and thereby
increase its applicability for energy and environmental applications. In this section,