Development of photocatalytic 3D-Printed cementitious mortars: influence of the curing, spraying time gaps and TiO2 coating rates

• Published in: Buildings (Basel) Vol. 11; no. 9; p. 381
• Main Authors: Zahabizadeh, Behzad, Rocha Segundo, Iran, Pereira, João, Freitas, Elisabete, Camões, Aires, Tavares, Carlos J., Teixeira, Vasco M. P., Cunha, Vítor M.C.F., Costa, Manuel F.M., Carneiro, Joaquim A. O.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI 01-08-2021; MDPI AG
• Subjects: 3D concrete printing; Adsorption; Aesthetics; Aqueous solutions; Architecture; Catalytic activity; Civil engineering; Coating; Coatings; Concrete; Construction; Curing; Degradation; Efficiency; Engenharia Civil; Engenharia e Tecnologia; Evaluation; Functionalized cementitious materials; Indústria; Influence; inovação e infraestruturas; Irradiation; Methods; Mortars (material); Nanoparticles; Photocatalysis; Photocatalytic mortar; Photodegradation; Pollutants; Radiation; Rhodamine; Science & Technology; Semiconductors; Smart materials; Smart mortar; Spraying; Surface coating; Three dimensional printing; TiO nanoparticles 2; TiO2 nanoparticles; Titanium dioxide
• ISSN: 2075-5309; 2075-5309
• DOI: 10.3390/buildings11090381

This work evaluated the photocatalytic activity of 3D-printed cementitious mortar specimens functionalized with TiO2 nanoparticles to obtain a multifunctional and smart concrete. This research aims to assess the influence of different parameters related to the functionalization process such as adsorption, coating time gaps, and coating rates on the degradation efficiency of the functionalized cementitious specimens. Each specimen was evaluated under the degradation of Rhodamine B (RhB) in an aqueous solution using a sun-light simulation. The obtained results showed a decrease in adsorption (under dark condition) with increasing the sample curing age. The highest photocatalytic efficiency was observed for coated samples aged 7 days. By increasing the coating rates, the photocatalytic efficiency is enhanced. Nonetheless, regardless of the coating rates, all the specimens showed an increase in photocatalytic efficiency for longer time periods of light exposition, i.e., after 8 h of irradiation
This work was partly financed by FCT/MCTES through national funds (PIDDAC) under the R&D Unit Institute for Sustainability and Innovation in Structural Engineering (ISISE), under reference UIDB/04029/2020. The authors acknowledge the support of the DST group construction company for funding the project Chair dst/IB-S: Smart Systems for Construction. The first two authors would like to acknowledge the PhD grants SFRH/BD/143636/2019 and SFRH/BD/137421/2018 provided by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT). Additionally, the authors would like to acknowledge FCT for the financing this research work by the project NanoAir PTDC/FIS-MAC/6606/2020 and the Strategic Fundings UIDB/04650/2020-2023 and UIDB/04029/2020