Multifunctional Behavior of TiO2 Cementitious Composites for Photocatalyst Air Cleaning and Energy Saving

MONA NAZARI SAM; RONALD BORGES SCHIFFER; MAXIMILIAN LÖHER; GIBILISCO RODRIGO GASTÓN; JÖRG KLEFFMANN; EDUARDUS KOENDERS; ANTONIO CAGGIANO

Environmental Concerns and Remediation

Springer

Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2022 p. 13 - 25

2529-8046

Air pollution is still among the biggest environmental health threats for humans in Europe. Traffic, industry, and agriculture are the main responsible sources that are emitting air pollutants, that is, nitrogen oxides (NO×), sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and particulate matter (PM). Moreover, indoor volatile organic compounds (VOCs), such as aromatics, aldehydes, and alcohols, can be emitted by building materials, consumer products, and other sources.The reduction of these pollutants cannot only be mitigated by active reduction of the emissions but also needs to be mitigated by novel technologies or materials. During the last two decades, novel multifunctional building materials have been designed by embedding photocatalysts employed to reduce (oxidize) the pollutants via photocatalytic reaction (PCR). Photocatalysts, for example, TiO2, are using UV light to convert adsorbed water and oxygen into highly reactive radicals (OH, O2−), which oxidize (clean) pollutants.In this context, the present work reports recent developments and future trends on experimental and numerical research of employing a multifunctional (highly porous) concrete foam, produced at the Institute of Construction and Building Materials of the Technische Universität Darmstadt, and enhanced with embedded TiO2. A wide range of experimentally analyzed thermal energy storage outputs, combined with the study of the photocatalytic activity, measured at the Bergische Universität Wuppertal, are presented to demonstrate the promising and outstanding multifunctionality of TiO2 foams.