The Potential of Concrete with Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) and Corncob Activated Carbon Admixture as a Photocatalyst

• Main Authors: Arzadon, Stacy Eleoriene T., Hernandez, Jezreel V ., Manalo, Ara Isybelle T., Payduan, Jamaeca Whine A.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2024
• Subjects: concrete; morphology; durability; photocatalyst; admixture
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/conf_shsrescon/2024/paper_men/1; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/conf_shsrescon/article/2363/viewcontent/PP_MEN_Arzadon_Hernandez_Manalo_Payduan___Stacy_Arzadon.docx.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

Environmental health is directly linked to human health and societal growth; it is a significant threat to humanity and a major contributor to illness and mortality. In response to these issues, photocatalysis is becoming a trend in the pursuit of the abatement of environmental threats as it is a promising approach to the destruction of contaminants. This study aimed to develop concrete with admixtures of TiO2 and Corncob Activated Carbon (CAC) and to determine its potential for photocatalysis through the investigation of morphology and durability. Results showed that in terms of morphology, the Scanning Electron Microscopy showed that the concrete with TiO2 and CAC have larger microcracks, indicating a higher surface area for photocatalysis which results to the limited load that the concrete can endure as seen through the durability tests using a Universal Testing Machine wherein the control had a higher compressive and flexural strength than the experimental. Due to limitations of the study, it is recommended to investigate the application of small-load concrete in the sectors of pollution degradation as well as the use of UV-DRS equipment to determine the exact photocatalytic activity of the concrete.