Cascione Mariafrancesca, De Matteis Valeria, Persano Francesca, Leporatti Stefano
Department of Mathematics & Physics "Ennio De Giorgi", University of Salento, Via Arnesano, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
CNR Nanotec-Institute of Nanotechnology, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
Materials (Basel). 2022 May 10;15(10):3441. doi: 10.3390/ma15103441.
Natural halloysite clay nanotubes (HNTs) are versatile inorganic reinforcing materials for creating hybrid composites. Upon doping HNTs with polymers, coating, or loading them with bioactive molecules, the production of novel nanocomposites is possible, having specific features for several applications. To investigate HNTs composites nanostructures, AFM is a very powerful tool since it allows for performing nano-topographic and morpho-mechanical measurements in any environment (air or liquid) without treatment of samples, like electron microscopes require. In this review, we aimed to provide an overview of recent AFM investigations of HNTs and HNT nanocomposites for unveiling hidden characteristics inside them envisaging future perspectives for AFM as a smart device in nanomaterials characterization.
天然埃洛石粘土纳米管（HNTs）是用于制备杂化复合材料的多功能无机增强材料。通过用聚合物对HNTs进行掺杂、包覆或负载生物活性分子，可以制备出具有特定特性、适用于多种应用的新型纳米复合材料。为了研究HNTs复合材料的纳米结构，原子力显微镜（AFM）是一种非常强大的工具，因为它可以在任何环境（空气或液体）中对样品进行纳米形貌和形态力学测量，而无需像电子显微镜那样对样品进行处理。在这篇综述中，我们旨在概述AFM对HNTs和HNT纳米复合材料的最新研究，以揭示其内部隐藏的特性，并展望AFM作为纳米材料表征智能设备的未来前景。
