Aluminosilicate halloysite nanotubes as a tool of modern nanocomposites for food safety

Abstract

Nanoscale natural clay minerals, which include Si, O, Al, and Mg, are a class of environmentally safe inorganic materials with unique structures and diverse morphologies, including nanorods, nanofibers, and nanotubes. Aluminosilicate hallusite nanotubes (HNTs) are relatively new objects of research in materials science, they have a number of environmental and economic advantages compared to carbon nanotubes (CNTs), as well as fullerene and graphene. Natural halloysites are an order of magnitude cheaper than their synthetic counterparts. The location of halloysite is quite common, for example, in the Kryvyi Rih region and other places in other countries. Due to their high environmental friendliness and bioavailability, HNTs can be used in medicine, including as drug carriers with controlled release. HNTs can also exhibit (photo)catalytic properties, have high adsorption properties in relation to heavy metals Cu(II), Pb(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), Cr(IV) and Co(II) and solutions, containing dyes, pesticides and some other organic pollutants, as well as toxic gases (ammonia, hydrogen sulfide). HNTs in combination with other metals, such as Mn, Ti, acquire various practical applications. HNTs were introduced to ensure better functional photo(electro)catalytic properties of composites that can be a substrate, especially in the case of nanotube oxide decoration. For example, titanium, a white pigment, non-toxic, is included in the list of food additives and is designated as E171. Contained in food products: candies, cookies, cakes, chicken fillet, crab sticks, chewing gum, chocolate products. Although the addition of titanium dioxide in food products is permitted by many official documents, there is insufficient data in the scientific literature regarding the potential danger of titanium dioxide to the human body. Increased interest in TiO2 is due to its high photocatalytic activity, which allows to realize processes of destruction of organic compounds, including ecotoxicants, into safe products. HNTs, or materials based on them, have found many useful applications in the treatment of drinking water and industrial wastewater. The structural features of HNTs make it possible to obtain new composite materials based on them, such as, for example, imohalite nanotubes (INTs) of a wide functional purpose and to determine the physicochemical patterns of their formation