The Meeting Point of Carbonaceous Materials and Clays: Toward a New Generation of Functional Composites

Carbon and clays are worldwide-spread natural resources known and used for centuries by humans. In spite of their differences, both have been combined to produce diverse types of functional materials, from conventional pencil cores to advanced hybrid composites. The presence of highly conductive graphene and/or carbon nanotubes allows for their use in applications ranging from elements of electrochemical devices to additives for polymer nanocomposites, pollution adsorbents, or active catalysts. Both top-down and bottom-up strategies can be applied to conveniently assemble carbon and clay counterparts. Moreover, such synthetic strategies can be tailored to produce adequate nanostructured materials and/or associate other species. This critical review presents the latest advances on this topic, addressing aspects related to the possibility to produce hybrid materials based on their functionalization capacity.