Abstract
The development of new, environmental friendly building materials with photocatalytic properties remain still on the top of the investigations both for academy and industry. The main drive is the increasing air pollution and the greenhouse gas emissions that have negative effect on public health and buildings. Ceramic roofing tiles functionalized with TiO2 can contribute on tackling these severe environmental problems by improving their properties. In this study, heavy clay ceramics manufactured from clay-body mixture and a Bayer process bauxite residue (ferroalumina) are used as substrates for the deposition of TiO2 coatings in order to produce self-cleaning ceramic surfaces. The process is based on the thermal hydrolysis of TiCl4 which takes place in a CVD reactor under atmospheric conditions. All coated samples were annealed at 600 °C and characterized in means of XRD, SEM/EDS and degradation ability of an organic pollutant. The formation of titania mixed phases (rutile and perovskite) shows positive results regarding the photocatalytic activity of the samples. The ones containing ferroalumina decomposed 100% the indigo carmine solution after 4 h, in comparison with the reference one which presented lower efficiency. Finally, this paper addresses technical feasible solutions for the production of photocatalytic active ceramics within the concept of circular economy and environmental sustainability.
Highlights
The production of “smart” building materials and coatings designed on the basis of TiO2 has gained special attention in the last decade
Traditional ceramics such as roofing tiles are considered as good candidates for novel applications by enhancing their conventional properties into new ones with photocatalytic features [1,2]
Titanium oxide (5.12%) which is expected to contribute on the photocatalytic efficiency of the coated samples
Summary
The production of “smart” building materials and coatings designed on the basis of TiO2 has gained special attention in the last decade. The development of new technologies with regards to titania is targeted on self-cleaning surfaces and environmental applications. In this aspect, traditional ceramics such as roofing tiles are considered as good candidates for novel applications by enhancing their conventional properties into new ones with photocatalytic features [1,2]. Traditional ceramics such as roofing tiles are considered as good candidates for novel applications by enhancing their conventional properties into new ones with photocatalytic features [1,2] This can be achieved through the development of functional coatings that consist of metal oxides such as titanium dioxide (TiO2 ). The later oxide has been proven to be an ideal photocatalyst in many fields of everyday applications like cosmetics, food, paints, ceramic glazes, textiles, and even in medicine [3,4] due to its excellent properties.
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