The dynamics of water in halloysite

Water is ubiquitous on Earth, where its presence has shaped the planet and led to life. Halloysite is a clay mineral that is formed by water, holds water in its structure and can subsequently lose water. Therefore, where we find halloysite in nature, we can also find a story of how water was taken up and expelled by the planet. This knowledge can feed into the global water cycle and be useful in agriculture; halloysite is found in soils where the uptake of water can be vital for the nutrition of plants. This experiment aims to reveal how water molecules moves through halloysite by subjecting it to a beam of neutrons. Halloysite is made up of a one-molecule thick water layer, squeezed in between two layers of clay. This is a novel opportunity to study a two-dimensional water layer and will give atomic-level insight, on a water-mineral relationship that is consequential in nature.