Surface Of Halloysite Nanotubes Research Articles

Hydrophobic modification of castor oil-based polyurethane coated fertilizer to improve the controlled release of nutrient with polysiloxane and halloysite

Castor oil has been developed rapidly as a bio-based coating material for controlled-release fertilizers. However, the release characteristics of coated fertilizers are limited because the coating materials are hydrophilic with many micropores. To improve the surface hydrophobicity of coating materials, superhydrophobic halloysite nanotubes (SHTs) were fabricated by hydrolytic condensation of siloxane on the surface of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs). SHTs were used to modify the castor oil-based polyurethane (SHPU) to enhance the surface nanoscale roughness and reduce surface energy. Compared with a PU-coated fertilizer (PUC), the nitrogen-release properties of the hydrophobic PU-coated fertilizer (SHPUC) were improved significantly. This improvement was because the nanoscale surface roughness and hydrophobicity of SHPU increased the water contact angle, and the micropores on the surface were blocked by nanotubes and hindered water entrance into the coating. This method of hydrophobic modified coating materials could provide a new idea for development of high efficiency and environmentally friendly bio-based coated controlled-release fertilizer and sustainable development of agriculture.

Surface decoration of Halloysite nanotubes with POSS for fire-safe thermoplastic polyurethane nanocomposites

• POSS modified HNTs were synthesized successfully by using a silane agent as a chemical bridge. • The POSS in combination with HNTs endows TPU with excellent flame retardancy without scarifying the mechanical property. • The incorporation of 2 wt% HNTs-POSS into TPU could effectively reduce the peak of the peak of CO production rate and total smoke release during combustion. Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) have been considered as a promising flame retardant fillers for polymers. In this work, the polyhedral oligomericsilsesquioxane (POSS) containing amino group was covalently grafted on the surface of HNTs with 3-(2,3-epoxypropoxy)propytrimethoxysilane as a chemical bridge. The POSS modified HNTs (HNTs-POSS) dispersed uniformly in the thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrix and endowed TPU nanocomposites with enhanced tensile properties and fire safety. Cone calorimeter tests revealed that the introduction of 2 wt% HNTs-POSS to TPU matrix remarkably reduced the peak of heat release rate (PHRR) and total heat release (THR) by 60.0% and 18.3%, respectively. In addition, the peak CO production rate and total smoke release (TSR) could be significantly suppressed by the addition of HNTs-POSS. The well dispersed HNTs in combination with the ceramified silicon network from the thermal decomposition of POSS contributed to the formation of a continuous and compact char layer, exhibiting a tortuous effect by inhibiting heat diffusion and evaporation of volatile gaseous. In addition, the released crystal water from HNTs could dilute the combustible volatiles and then decline the combustion intensity. The tensile tests demonstrated that introduction of 2 wt% HNTs-POSS would enhance the maximum stress of TPU nanocomposite with a slight decrease of elongation at break. The combination of HNTs and POSS through the construction of effective interfacial interactions provides a feasible way to effectively enhance the fire safety of TPU nanocomposites without scarifying ductility.

Potential Applications of Halloysite Nanotubes as Drug Carriers: A Review

Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are naturally occurring tubular clay nanomaterials that are made from multiple‐rolled aluminosilicate kaolin panels. The aluminol and siloxane groups on the surface of HNT facilitate the formation of hydrogen bonds with biomaterials on its surface. It is a cost‐effective nanomaterial that found applications in a variety of fields of science and technology. The biocompatible properties of HNT resulted in various applications such as in nanomedicine, biomedicine, tissue engineering, drug delivery, sequence delivery, cancer, stem cells isolation, bioimaging, and sensors. Due to its tubular form, it has played a vital role as drug delivery carriers, superior nanocarrier for numerous medicines, and biological agents with larger loading capacity and longer releasing kinetics. HNT has also been investigated and used extensively in targeted drug transfer applications with a variety of medicines. These studies provided positive outcomes which have led to versatile medicinal applications. Herein, we have highlighted the latest developments on HNT‐based drug carriers.

Functionalized halloysite nanotubes incorporated thin film nanocomposite nanofiltration membrane for treatment of wastewaters containing metal ions

The high concentrations of heavy metal ions in industrial effluents are one of the most challenging wastewaters to deal with. In this study and in order to change the inner diameter of the halloysite nanotubes (HNT), their internal surface was coated by different polymers (polydopamine, polyaniline and polystyrene) and then, the modified nanotubes were incorporated in the polyamide thin film NF membrane for the treatment of metal ions solutions. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) studies indicated that the internal coating was successful. Furthermore, the neat and modified nanofiltration (NF) membranes were characterized in terms of morphology, contact angle, water flux and metal ion rejection. The modified membranes displayed lower contact angle values (29.4% reduction) that can be linked to the hydrophilic groups in the structure of the coated polymers and the smoother surface of the thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane. In addition, the permeation fluxes of the modified membranes were improved significantly (33.4% improvement) without any major reduction in their ion rejection; that shows HNTs act as the channels to transfer water through the membrane structure while the coating of the inner surface of HNT reduces the size of the channel and makes more repulsion and steric hindrance for the ion to pass through the nanotubes. Among the fabricated membranes, the NF membrane with 0.05 wt% polystyrene-coated HNT showed the lowest contact angle (55.30o) and the highest water permeation flux (27.51 L m-2 hr-1), compared to the neat TFC membrane (15.26 L m-2 hr-1) and the NF membrane with 0.05 wt% unmodified HNT (20.62 L m-2 hr-1).

Selectively Etched Halloysite Nanotubes as Performance Booster of Epoxidized Natural Rubber Composites.

Halloysite Nanotubes (HNT) are chemically similar to clay, which makes them incompatible with non-polar rubbers such as natural rubber (NR). Modification of NR into a polar rubber is of interest. In this work, Epoxidized Natural Rubber (ENR) was prepared in order to obtain a composite that could assure filler–matrix compatibility. However, the performance of this composite was still not satisfactory, so an alternative to the basic HNT filler was pursued. The surface area of HNT was further increased by etching with acid; the specific surface increased with treatment time. The FTIR spectra confirmed selective etching on the Al–OH surface of HNT with reduction in peak intensity in the regions 3750–3600 cm−1 and 825–725 cm−1, indicating decrease in Al–OH structures. The use of acid-treated HNT improved modulus, tensile strength, and tear strength of the filled composites. This was attributed to the filler–matrix interactions of acid-treated HNT with ENR. Further evidence was found from the Payne effect being reduced to 44.2% through acid treatment of the filler. As for the strain-induced crystallization (SIC) in the composites, the stress–strain curves correlated well with the degree of crystallinity observed from synchrotron wide-angle X-ray scattering.

Halloysite nanotubes as nanoreactors for heterogeneous micellar catalysis

HypothesisElectrostatic attractions between the anionic head group of sodium alkylsulphates and the positively charged inner surface of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) drive to the formation of tubular inorganic micelles, which might be employed as nanoreactors for the confinement of non polar compounds in aqueous media. On this basis, sodium alkylsulphates/halloysite hybrids could be efficient nanocatalysts for organic reactions occurring in water. ExperimentsSodium decylsulphate (NaDeS) and sodium dodecylsulphate (NaDS) were selected for the functionalization of the halloysite cavity. The composition, the structure and the surface charge properties of the hybrid nanotubes were determined. The actual formation of inorganic micelles was explored by studying the microviscosity and polarity characteristics of the surfactant modified nanotubes through fluorescence spectroscopy experiments using DiPyme as probe. The performances of the sodium alkylsulphates/halloysite composites as micellar catalysts for the Belousov-Zhabotinsky (BZ) reaction were investigated. FindingsThe halloysite functionalization with sodium alkylsulphates generated the formation of hydrophobic microdomains with an enhanced microviscosity. Compared to the surfactant conventional micelles, the functionalized nanotubes induced larger enhancements on the rate constant of the BZ reaction. This is the first report on the surfactant/halloysite hybrids showing their efficiencies as reusable nanocatalysts, which are dependent on their peculiar microviscosity and polarity properties.

Polydopamine-modified halloysite nanotube-incorporated polyvinyl alcohol membrane for pervaporation of water-isopropanol mixture

In reference, the mussel-encouraged surface adhesion chemistry, dopamine oxidative auto-polymerization on the surface of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) was performed to confer hydrophilicity to the HNTs. The additional hydrophilic moieties with surface coating by polydopamine (PDA) was assured with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) techniques. A PDA/HNT-incorporated polyvinyl alcohol/polyvinyl amine (PVA-PVAm) membrane was fabricated for the pervaporation-dehydration of isopropanol/water (IPA/water), and the filler dispersion, crystallinity, and hydrophilicity of the membrane were confirmed by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and contact angle measurements, respectively. The pervaporation test was performed with membranes having different PDA/HNT contents, where the flux increased from 0.19 to 0.39 kg/m2h, and the separation factor decreased from 479 to 63 with the 80/20 (w/w, IPA/water) feed mixture at 40 °C. Compared to the unmodified HNT-incorporated membrane, the membrane with 5 wt.% PDA/HNT exhibited superior performance. Upon increasing the feed (85/15 IPA/water w/w) temperature from 40 to 70 °C, the flux of water and IPA increased from 0.062 to 0.13 kg/m2h and 0.000063 to 0.00144 kg/m2h, respectively. The apparent energy of activation calculated using the Arrhenius equation was positive for both IPA and water. The higher energy required for permeation of IPA (99.65 kJ/mol) compared to water (22.69 kJ/mol) is attributed to facile permeation of water compared to IPA through the hydrophilic channel created by PDA-HNT. In long-term operation (120 h), the IPA and water flux of the 5 wt.% PDA/HNT-incorporated PVA-PVAm membrane was maintained using a feed composition of 80/20 (w/w %) IPA/water at 40 °C, indicating remarkable reusability of the membrane.

In-situ grown Ag on magnetic halloysite nanotubes in scaffolds: Antibacterial, biocompatibility and mechanical properties

A novel design of antibacterial and magnetic halloysite nanotubes loaded with Ag and Fe3O4 was reported. In detail, magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4) were immobilized on the surface of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) via electrostatic adsorption (termed as HNTs/Fe3O4). The magnetic HNTs/Fe3O4 was then modified by polydopamine to in-situ grow Ag nanoparticles by a redox reaction, forming a composite nanostructure of HNTs/Fe3O4@Ag. The HNTs/Fe3O4@Ag was incorporated into poly-l-lactic acid (PLLA) scaffold fabricated via selective laser sintering, with the intent to endow the scaffold with robust antibacterial function and favorable cell activity. The results showed that the released Ag+ from the scaffold significantly against E. coli activity, with bacterial inhibition rate above 99%. Moreover, ion release behavior showed a scaffold enable to sustain release Ag+ over 28 days. Furthermore, Fe3O4 nanoparticles constructed magnetic microenvironment greatly enhanced cell activity and promoted cell proliferation. In addition, tensile strength of the scaffold increased by 52.9% compared with PLLA scaffold. These positive results suggested that the HNTs/Fe3O4@Ag nanostructure possessed potential in facilitating bone repair.

Mechanistic insights of hexavalent chromium remediation by halloysite-supported copper nanoclusters

Chromium (Cr) pollution is a significant environmental concern with remediation challenge. Hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) is more toxic than trivalent chromium (Cr(III)) due to its mutagenicity and oncogenicity. In this investigation, a multi-functional material, copper nanoclusters (CuNCs)-halloysite nanotubes (HNT) composite (CuNCs@HNT), has been synthesised in an eco-friendly manner and utilised for Cr(VI) remediation. Advanced analytical tools confirmed the seeding of ultra-fine CuNCs onto HNT surfaces. The maximum adsorption capacity of CuNCs@HNT is 79.14 ± 6.99 mg/g at pH 5 ± 0.1 with an increment at lower pHs. This performance was comparable for real surface stream water as well as other reported materials. The pseudo-second-order kinetic-, intra-particle diffusion- and Freundlich isotherm models well fit the experimental data implying that the chemisorption, multiphase diffusion and multi-molecular layer distribution occurred during adsorption. The Fourier-transform infrared and the x-ray photoelectron spectra also ensured the transformation of Cr(VI) to Cr(III) indicating the material's suitability for concurrent adsorption and reduction of Cr(VI). While coexisting cations and anions did not overwhelm this adsorption, CuNCs@HNT was regenerated and reused five successive times in adsorption-desorption cycles without significant loss of adsorption capacity and material’s integrity. Therefore, this multi-functional, biocompatible, low-cost and stable CuNCs@HNT composite may have practical application for similar toxic metals remediation.

Fabrication of Bio-Nanocomposite Based on HNT-Methionine for Controlled Release of Phenytoin.

In this study, a novel promising approach for the fabrication of Halloysite nanotube (HNT) nanocomposites, based on the amino acid named Methionine (Met), was investigated. For this purpose, Met layered on the outer silane functionalized surface of HNT for controlled release of Phenytoin sodium (PHT). The resulting nanocomposite (MNT-g-Met) was characterized by FTIR, XRD, Zeta potential, TGA, TEM and FE-SEM. The FT-IR results showed APTES and Met peaks, which proved the modification of the HNTs. The zeta-potential results showed the interaction between APTES (+53.30) and Met (+38.80) on the HNTs (−30.92). The FE-SEM micrographs have displayed the grafting of Met on the modified HNTs due to the nanotube conversion to a rough and indistinguishable form. The amount of encapsulation efficiency (EE) and loading efficiency (LE) of MNT-g-Met was 74.48% and 37.24%, while pure HNT was 57.5%, and 28.75%, respectively. In-vitro studies showed that HNT had a burst release (70% in 6 h) in phosphate buffer while MNT-g-Met has more controlled release profile (30.05 in 6 h) and it was found to be fitted with the Korsmeyer-Peppas model. Due to the loading efficiency and controlled release profile, the nanocomposite promote a good potential for drug delivery of PHT.

Copper Nanoparticles Decorated Halloysite Nanotube/Polyaniline Composites for High Performance Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensor

Developing high-performance sensors for glucose detection is of great significance in clinical diagnostics and life science. This paper presents a non-enzymatic electrochemical glucose sensor with high performance. The halloysite nanotube/polyaniline (HNT/PANI) nanocomposite was obtained by chemical oxidation polymerization of aniline on the surface of halloysite nanotubes, then a highly sensitive non-enzymatic glucose sensor based on Cu nanoparticles decorated halloysite nanotube/polyaniline (Cu-HNT/PANI) nanocomposite was fabricated by in situ reduction of Cu precursor on HNT/PANI nanotubes under mild condition. Benefits from the high specific surface area and abundant active sites of the conductive substrate, the Cu-HNT/PANI nanocomposites modified glass carbon electrodes (GCE) exhibited significantly enhanced glucose sensing performance. The glucose sensor based on Cu-HNT/PANI composite demonstrated an excellent linear relationship in glucose concentrations range of 0.01–5 mM. The sensitivity in low concentration range (0.01–0.1 mM) reached 434.0 μA mM−1 cm−2 with the detection limit of 0.27 μM (S/N = 3). Besides, the Cu-HNT/PANI composites modified GCE exhibited extraordinary selectivity, stability and reproducibility in glucose sensing. Taking advantage of the low cost and mild synthesis conditions, Cu-HNT/PANI is a promising glucose-sensing material with broad application prospect.

Highly Active PdO/Mn3O4/CeO2 Nanocomposites Supported on One Dimensional Halloysite Nanotubes for Photoassisted Thermal Catalytic Methane Combustion

AbstractIn this work, we have successfully triggered the aqueous auto‐redox reactions between reductive Ce(OH)3 and oxidative MnO4−/Pd2+ ions to form PdO/Mn3O4/CeO2 (PMC) nanocomposites. PMC could spontaneously self‐assemble into compact encapsulation on the surface of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) to form the final one dimensional HNTs supported PMCs (HPMC). It is identified that there exists strong synergistic effects among the components of PdO, Mn3O4, and CeO2, and hence HPMC could show excellent performance on photoassisted thermal catalytic CH4 combustion that its light‐off temperature was sharply reduced to be 180 °C under visible light irradiation. Based on detailed studies, it is found that the catalytic reaction process well follows the classic MVK mechanism, and adsorption/activation of O2 into active oxygen species (O*) should be the rate‐determining step for CH4 conversion.

Highly Active PdO/Mn3 O4 /CeO2 Nanocomposites Supported on One Dimensional Halloysite Nanotubes for Photoassisted Thermal Catalytic Methane Combustion.

In this work, we have successfully triggered the aqueous auto-redox reactions between reductive Ce(OH)3 and oxidative MnO4 - /Pd2+ ions to form PdO/Mn3 O4 /CeO2 (PMC) nanocomposites. PMC could spontaneously self-assemble into compact encapsulation on the surface of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) to form the final one dimensional HNTs supported PMCs (HPMC). It is identified that there exists strong synergistic effects among the components of PdO, Mn3 O4 , and CeO2 , and hence HPMC could show excellent performance on photoassisted thermal catalytic CH4 combustion that its light-off temperature was sharply reduced to be 180 °C under visible light irradiation. Based on detailed studies, it is found that the catalytic reaction process well follows the classic MVK mechanism, and adsorption/activation of O2 into active oxygen species (O*) should be the rate-determining step for CH4 conversion.

Research progress of hydrophobically modified Halloysite nanotube-based composite materials

With the development of material design theories and synthesis technologies, clay-based composite materials have been controllably prepared and successfully applied in many fields, such as biomedicine, the automotive industry, petrochemical engineering, and wastewater treatment. To date, for the preparation of clay-based composite materials, the physical and chemical properties of clay must be fully considered, including the chemical composition, crystal structure, particle size, morphology, and surface charge. Halloysite, which has a tubular crystal structure, is a curly layered aluminosilicate clay with abundant reserves and a low price for constructing composite materials. The inner and outer surfaces of halloysite nanotubes are composed of Al−OH octahedrons and Si−O tetrahedrons, respectively, which ionize in opposite ways in water, resulting in opposite charges on the inner and outer surfaces. Therefore, the selective modification of halloysite can be achieved by chemical or electrostatic adsorption of the required chemical reagent. Additionally, the modified halloysite nanotubes can be used in catalysis and the loading and release of drug molecules. Moreover, because of its nanotube structure, the halloysite can be used to construct rough structures in micro- or nano-scale. By incorporation with low-surface-energy materials, the hydrophobic halloysite-based composite materials can be prepared for self-cleaning and oil-water separation. In this review, we introduced the rational design and preparation strategies of the hydrophobic halloysite-based composite materials. Then, we summarized the applications of these prepared composite materials in oil-water separation, hydrophobic self-cleaning coating, and the loading and sustained release of drug molecules. In addition, the related mechanisms and strategies for performance improvement were systematically discussed. Finally, the existing challenges and promising future directions in this research field were proposed. The halloysite-based composite materials have enhanced properties that are highly required, including enhanced mechanical and adhesive strength, excellent scratch and wear resistance, self-healing, and higher compatibility with living organisms. We believe fruitful promising results can be achieved in this field with more effort.

Application of Halloysite Nanotubes in Cancer Therapy-A Review.

Halloysite, a nanoclay characterized by a unique, tubular structure, with oppositely charged interior and exterior, suitable, nanometric-range size, high biocompatibility, and low cost, is recently gaining more and more interest as an important and versatile component of various biomaterials and delivery systems of biomedical relevance. One of the most recent, significant, and intensely studied fields in which halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) found diverse applications is cancer therapy. Even though this particular direction is mentioned in several more general reviews, it has never so far been discussed in detail. In our review, we offer an extended survey of the literature on that particular aspect of the biomedical application of HNTs. While historical perspective is also given, our paper is focused on the most recent developments in this field, including controlled delivery and release of anticancer agents and nucleic acids by HNT-based systems, targeting cancer cells using HNT as a carrier, and the capture and analysis of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) with nanostructured or magnetic HNT surfaces. The overview of the most up-to-date knowledge on the HNT interactions with cancer cells is also given.

Synthesis and properties of core–shell halloysite–polyaniline nanocomposites

We consider physico-chemical specificity (open circuit potential and pH changes) of the chemical oxidative aniline polymerization in the presence of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) and morphology, structure and properties of the new nanocomposites of HNTs with polyaniline (PANI) doped by p-toluenesulfonic acid. We find that specificity of the PANI properties in such nanocomposites appears obviously due to adsorption on the HNTs surface and specific interactions of all participants of the polymerization process. The study of the open circuit potential and pH changes in the polymerization system and properties of the synthesized HNT/PANI nanocomposites revealed the strong dependence of their morphology, molecular structure, conductivity, thermostability and sensor behavior on the contents of the doped PANI. These findings indicate existence of specific interactions between the PANI component and the HNT surface, which significantly improved properties of the PANI component in the synthesized HNT/PANI nanocomposites as compared with that of the pure PANI. The best thermostability and sensing behavior were found for the synthesized HNT/PANI nanocomposites with the lowest contents of the doped PANI. In particular, the strongest sensor responses to gaseous ammonia are observed in the case of HNT/PANI nanocomposite with lowering the doped PANI content. This work shows for the first time applicability of HNT/PANI nanocomposites for gas sensing.

A novel multi-dimension inorganic–organic hybrid aerogel and its electrochemical behavior

Halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) were widely concerned in the research of electrode materials for supercapacitors because it had many advantages, such as abundant natural reserves, non-toxic, large specific surface area, and so on. The zero-dimensional Fe3O4 nanoparticles loaded onto the surface of one-dimensional HNTs (HNTs-O) could give HNT’s excellent electrical properties and improve the specific capacitance. In our previous study, the HNTs were connected into three-dimensional interconnected nano-network (HCAs) by electrostatic interaction. It was found interesting phenomena in load transfer ability and increasing the specific surface area. Based on our previous studies, in this study, HNTs-O was compounded with the three-dimensional HCAs to prepare the composite aerogel (CA-O). The organic–inorganic hybrid aerogels (CA-OP) were prepared by loading conductive polymer polyaniline (PANI) onto the composite aerogel surface to form a two-dimensional PANI. The synergistic effect of inorganic HNTs-O and organic PANI had improved the conductivity and electrical properties of CA-OP. The results of the scanning electron microscope, Fourier transform infrared, N2 adsorption–desorption, stress–strain tests, and so on showed that the composite was successfully prepared and had the acceptable performance in specific surface area and mechanical properties. Cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and other electrochemical tests suggested that the organic–inorganic hybrid aerogel had large capacitance and exciting cycle performance.

Surface-Modified Halloysite Nanotubes as Electrochemical CO2 Sensors

The outer surface of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) was selectively modified using (3-aminopropyl)triethoxysilane (APTES) via a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) method. The product of this reaction, ami...

Synthesis and Characterization of Nanomaterial Based on Halloysite and Hectorite Clay Minerals Covalently Bridged.

Halloysite is an aluminosilicate clay with a predominantly hollow tubular structure (HNTs) able to act as a nanocontainer for the encapsulation of several chemicals. However, HNTs possess low affinity for metal ions in their pristine form and they need to be modified for improving their adsorption capabilities. Therefore, to overcome this issue herein we report a straightforward approach for the covalent modification of the external surface of halloysite nanotubes with hectorite clay. Compared to halloysite, hectorite possesses a lamellar structure with higher cation exchange capacity. The covalent linkage between the two clays was verified by several techniques (FTIR spectroscopy, 13C CP-MAS NMR, TGA, ζ−potential, DLS, and XRD measurements) and the morphology was imaged by TEM investigations. As proof of concept the adsorption ability of the obtained nanomaterial in comparison to pristine clays was proved using ciprofloxacin and silver ions chosen as models for their different chemical characteristics.

Crystallinity and photocatalytic properties of BiVO4/halloysite nanotubes hybrid catalysts for sunlight-driven decomposition of dyes from aqueous solution

The BiVO4/HNTs hybrid photocatalysts were synthesized by liquid phase precipitation using natural halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) as supporter and Bi(NO3)·5H2O as resource of Bi. XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy, HRTEM, x-ray photo electron spectroscopy and UV–Vis DRS were used to characterize the samples prepared at different calcination temperatures, and the effects of crystallization, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller specific surface area and morphological structure on the photoactivity were investigated. Results reveal that increasing calcination temperature can accelerate the transition of BiVO4 from tetragonal to monoclinic and also decrease the surface area of BiVO4/HNTs. The SEM results showed that BiVO4 was successfully coated on HNTs surface with ellipsoid or near rod like morphology, and the obtained BiVO4/HNTs had regular nanotube morphology. HRTEM results showed that, the regular fringe spacing of the lattice planes are about 0.474 and 0.364 nm, which is consistent with the (110) and (200) plane of the monoclinic and tetragonal BiVO4, confirming the exiting of mixed crystal structure in BiVO4/HNTs. BiVO4 with tetragonal phase (80.02%) and monoclinic phase (19.98%) mixed crystal is loaded on the surface of HNTs with calcinations at 400 °C for 2 h. The structure and Si (Al)–O bond of HNTs can be obviously changed over the calcination temperature of 400 °C. The effect of calcination temperature on photocatalytic reactivity of samples was investigated by degradation of dyes (MB, MO and RhB) under simulated solar light. And the sample calcined at 400 °C with the better mixed crystalline structure and larger specific surface area exhibits significant activity with the removal rate of MB and RhB up to 100% within 4 h. The degradation of MB follows the first order kinetic model. BiVO4/HNTs photocatalysts with the band gap of 2.34 eV has higher photocatalytic reaction rate and better sedimentation performance than Degussa P25. The photocatalytic degradation efficiency of BiVO4/HNTs for MB was no significant reduction after four times recycles.