Photocatalytic cementitious material for self-cleaning and anti-microbial application

Abstract

First of all, the author would like to express his greatest gratitude to his supervisor, Assistant Professor Qian Shunzhi, not only for his invaluable supervision and advice but also for sharing his experiences, encouragement and motivation throughout the journey of his PhD program. The author owes his deepest gratitude to Dr Wei Li and Dr Ding Yuanzhao for their endless assistance and patience in guiding and helping the author on experimental design, chemical synthesis, microbiological related experiments, training for using equipment and report writing. The author would also like to extend his sincere gratitude to Nanyang Technological University for the NTU research scholarship. The author would like to thank all colleagues in his group (Weng Yiwei, Lu Bing, Liu Siyu, Dr Zhang Zhigang), Dr Martin Wijaya (CEE), Dr Ronny William (SPMS), and Dr Namyo Salim (CEE) for their comments and helpful discussion. The author also would like to thank all of PhD students in Prof Chen Yuan's group, Mr Cheng from CT Lab, Mr Phua from CT Lab, Ms Lim, Han Khiang from Environmental Lab and technicians that have not been mentioned for all the helps and friendship through these years. Finally, the author would like to express his utmost gratitude to his family who has given continuous moral support and encouragement to the author. Chapter 4. Graphene-based TiO 2 nanocomposites for enhanced visible light degradation of organic dye and antibacterial effect of Escherichia coli 53 4.

Influence of TiO2 Nanoparticles on the Resistance of Cementitious Composite Materials to the Action of Bacteria

“…The possibility remains open that composite samples with more than 5% nano-TiO 2 are antibacterial effective if adequate nanoparticle dispersion is ensured. This range of identified nano-TiO 2 amount is consistent with reports in the literature [ 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 ].…”

“…Results were also consistent with those of Gurr [ 35 ], who assessed that the antibacterial effect of TiO 2 composites is manifested in the presence of natural light, without necessarily requiring UV photoactivation. The study carried out by Hamdani [ 36 ] has shown that based on the behavior of the two cementitious mixtures with 3% and 5% nano-TiO 2 -based type-Aeroxide P25, when in contact with E. coli , they were able to reduce the viability of bacteria after 24 h of exposure by 60–70%. The main observation, based on results in the literature [ 37 , 38 , 39 ], is that cementitious composite surfaces containing nano-TiO 2 have the ability to inhibit biofilm growth, destroying the E-coli bacteria with which they come in contact.…”

Applying of Chitosan-TiO2 Nanocomposites for Photocatalytic Degradation of Anthracene and Pyrene

“…For example, concrete pavements with TiO2 to decompose airborne pollutants and antibacterial ceramic tiles were developed [6]. Moreover, the application of photocatalytic materials for barrier structures, road surfaces and tunnels can be useful in reducing the level of environmental pollution [7].…”

Graphene-Based TiO2 Cement Composites to Enhance the Antibacterial Effect of Self-Disinfecting Surfaces

“…However, it has a number of disadvantages, such as being substrate dependent (its typical precursor is metal alkoxides which are high-cost materials) and time-consuming due to the slow process of gel formation [24]. The hydrothermal technique involves single or heterogeneous phase reactions under controlled temperature and pressure to crystallize a substance from an aqueous solution [19,25,26]. It allows shorter processing time and lower energy consumption, since the high calcination temperature, mixing, and milling can be minimized.…”