Clay Mineral Nanoparticles for Heavy Metal Remediation in Soil: A Comprehensive Review of Current Trends and Future Directions

Abstract

Heavy metal contamination in soil represents a critical global environmental challenge due to the fact that it poses substantial threats to ecological integrity and to human health. Remediation methods that are common like land filling and also excavation often is environmentally damaging and also costly. Because of this, alternatives that are revolutionary along with sustainable we must explore. Nanomaterials of a highly promising class have emerged these are clay mineral nanoparticles for in-situ remediation of soils contaminated by heavy metals. This is a review that endeavors toward the provision of a full overview of the state of current knowledge. It is about the use of clay mineral nanoparticles in the cleanup of heavy metal soil. This review closely examines the diverse types of clay minerals people employ, the various strategies people use to modify and functionalize them for remediation efficiency improvement, and the detailed mechanisms governing all interactions with a wide heavy metal contaminant spectrum. Furthermore, we explore here a critical analysis into all of the key factors that do largely influence remediation efficiency, which then include nanparticle size and surface charge characteristic in addition to the complexities of solution chemistry.   Acknowledging the practical implementation aspects, the review also meticulously addresses the inherent challenges and limitations associated with the real-world application of clay mineral nanoparticles for soil remediation, specifically focusing on scalability, cost-effectiveness, stability, durability, and potential environmental and health risks. Finally, we propose a series of well-defined future research directions aimed at overcoming these limitations and further optimizing the performance of clay mineral nanoparticle-based remediation technologies, paving the way for sustainable and efficient solutions to heavy metal soil pollution.