Clay minerals are considered one of the materials of the 20th century for their peculiar physico-chemical features. Among them, halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are an emerging nanomaterial with a particular tubular structure that makes them a low cost and valuable alternative to the most common carbon nanotubes. Due to their tubular morphology, HNTs are employed in several fields acting as nanocontainers for different compounds for applications in drug carrier and delivery fields, catalysis, and as filler for polymeric matrices. The modification of HNTs’ surfaces allows to the synthesis of different nanoarchitectures that can improve the mechanical and thermal performance of polymer as well as they can enhance the use for the loading and release of chemicals. In this review, we summarize our recent results on halloysite functionalization, both supramolecular and covalent, and the application aforementioned fields.

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埃洛石纳米管：材料和生命科学的绿色资源

粘土矿物具有独特的物理化学特征，被认为是20世纪的材料之一。其中，埃洛石纳米管（HNT）是一种新兴的纳米材料，具有特殊的管状结构，使其成为最常见的碳纳米管的低成本且有价值的替代品。由于其管状的形态，HNTs在多个领域中被用作不同化合物的纳米容器，用于药物载体和递送领域，催化以及作为聚合物基质的填充剂。HNT表面的改性允许合成不同的纳米结构，这可以改善聚合物的机械和热性能，并且可以增强化学物质的装载和释放用途。在这篇评论中，我们总结了有关埃洛石功能化的最新结果，