Colloidal stability and self-assembling behavior of nanoclays

Currently, nanoclays are attracting the attention of a wide part of the scientific community, due to some of their most peculiar features that make them good candidates for applications in different fields. In light of this, some strategies can be pursued in order to obtain stable colloidal dispersions of nanoclays with the aim to improve their features and to expand their use. Hence, this chapter presents an overview on the structural and morphological characteristics, the physico-chemical properties and the main approaches that are taken into account for the preparation of homogeneous suspensions of Halloysite, Imogolite and Laponite in both aqueous and apolar solvent media. In particular, these strategies range from the direct study of nanoclays dispersions in water by considering their proper behaviors such as liquid-crystal phases formation or sol–gel transitions, to the selective functionalization of their surfaces with surfactans, polymers, biopolymers or solid nanoparticles through electrostatic interactions. Besides, the design of some supramolecular systems based on Janus particles or Pickering emulsions preparation is also considered. Finally, the possibility to enhance the clay nanoparticles manageability is a crucial point for their uses in technological issues.