article · Building and Environment
Mesoporous titanium dioxide and silicon dioxide photocatalytic coatings have been developed and spray-applied onto concrete substrates to evaluate their self-cleaning and depolluting performance. These nanostructured surfaces break down organic pollutants such as methylene blue dye and soot while reducing harmful airborne nitrogen oxides. Coatings with higher titanium dioxide loadings demonstrated superior performance, achieving up to 95 per cent methylene blue degradation within an hour and 49 per cent nitrogen oxide conversion over 104 hours of light exposure. In comparative assessments, the experimental coatings outperformed a commercial benchmark, which cracked and displayed lower pollutant removal rates. Furthermore, outdoor exposure tests over four months confirmed that the material structure remained intact and the photocatalytic efficiency stayed practically invariable across multiple degradation cycles, demonstrating sustained durability for concrete infrastructure in real-world outdoor conditions.
Urban air pollution accelerates the degradation of concrete buildings and infrastructure while posing severe risks to public health. Applying durable self-cleaning and depolluting coatings directly to construction materials helps preserve architectural surfaces and passively purifies surrounding air. Demonstrating that these coatings maintain their chemical efficacy and physical integrity under outdoor exposure offers a practical approach to extending infrastructure lifespan and reducing building maintenance requirements.
This applied research demonstrates functional coatings for construction material manufacturers, infrastructure maintenance teams, and commercial coatings producers. The technology targets outdoor concrete structures to deliver passive air purification and self-cleaning surfaces. Having been spray-applied to concrete and verified under four-month outdoor weathering trials alongside a commercial benchmark, the formulation sits at an applied testing stage, needing further industrial scale-up, application standardisation, and long-term environmental assessments before full market deployment.
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A self-cleaning nanostructured TiO2 coating has demonstrated the capacity to mitigate undesired effects from air pollution. Not only it reduces the deterioration of building materials but may also prevent certain pollution-related human health problems. In this study, mesoporous TiO2/SiO2 photocatalysts were synthesized in order to produce self-cleaning and long-lasting coatings that meet the necessary requirements for outdoor applications. The synthesized products were sprayed on concrete substrates and their self-cleaning and air depolluting capabilities were evaluated. The former one as a function of methylene blue (MB) and soot degradation and the latter, according to nitrogen oxides reduction. The coatings proved to have high photocatalytic activity, and their efficiency was enhanced as TiO2 loadings were increased. Thus, after the first 60 min of their irradiation by UV–vis light, the photocatalysts ST1 and S4T had removed 79% and 95% of the MB, respectively. These coatings presented particulate surfaces that provided more surface area and porosity, which are key factors for a high photocatalytic activity. Moreover, the same samples after 104 h of irradiation exhibited 38% and 49% conversion of total NO, respectively. While E503, a commercially available photocatalyst, produced coating cracked surfaces and a total MB degradation of just 50% after 60 min of irradiation as well as 35% of NO conversion after 104 h of irradiation. The TiO2/SiO2 coatings’ photocatalytic efficacy remained practically invariable after four months of exposure to real-life conditions and three MB degradation cycles. After the outdoor durability tests, the coated surfaces exhibited a practically unchanged structure, which confirms their long-lasting efficiency.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108743
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