Photoactive glazed polymer-cement composite

Liana Baltes, Silvia Patachia*, Mircea Tierean, Ozgur Ekincioglu, Hulusi M. Ozkul

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Macro defect free cements (MDF), a kind of polymer-cement composites, are characterized by remarkably high mechanical properties. Their flexural strengths are 20–30 times higher than those of conventional cement pastes, nearly equal to that of an ordinary steel. The main drawback of MDF cements is their sensitivity to water. This paper presents a method to both diminish the negative impact of water on MDF cements mechanical properties and to enlarge their application by conferring photoactivity. These tasks were solved by glazing MDF cement with an ecological glaze containing nano-particles of TiO 2 . Efficiency of photocatalytic activity of this material was tested against methylene blue aqueous solution (4.4 mg/L). Influence of the photocatalyst concentration in the glaze paste and of the contact time on the photocatalysis process (efficiency and kinetic) was studied. The best obtained photocatalysis yield was of 97.35%, after 8 h of exposure to 254 nm UV radiation when used an MDF glazed with 10% TiO 2 in the enamel paste. Surface of glazed material was characterized by optic microscopy, scratch test, SEM, XRD, and EDS. All these properties were correlated with the aesthetic aspect of the glazed surface aiming to propose using of this material for sustainable construction development.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)84-95
Number of pages12
JournalApplied Surface Science
Volume438
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Apr 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier B.V.

Keywords

  • Glazing
  • Photocatalysis
  • Polymer-cement composite
  • TiO
  • Waste water

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