A review of recent advances in two-dimensional natural clay vermiculite-based nanomaterials

The vermiculite (VMT), as a natural hydrate mineral, is one of the most competitive candidates of two dimensional (2D) mateirals in various areas including waste water treatment, energy-saving building, green agriculture, etc. Notably, 2D expanded VMT offers a nano-sized multilayered structure, which has triggered far-ranging interest in the development of 2D nanomaterials and processing capabilities to fulfill the requirements of environmental adsorption materials, thermal storage materials, high efficient catalysts and so on. VMT as an additive material is commonly used to enstrong mechanical, thermal and flame retardant properties, particularly for polymer materials. Additionally, some emerging materials derived from VMT, such as 2D silica nanomesh, 2D VMT-based layered double hydroxide (LDH), lithium silicates, silicon carbide ceramic material, have been well engineered to expand its application ranges. In this review, we focus on VMT-based nanomaterials, summarize physical and chemical behaviors, and discuss mechanism and problems encountered in its application. The major goal is to highlight the recent progress of 2D VMT in various practical and potential applications.