Self-cleaning performance of nano-TiO₂ modified metakaolin-based geopolymers

• Main Authors: Sanalkumar, Krishnan U. Ambikakumari, Yang, En-Hua
• Other Authors: School of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Engineering::Civil engineering; Geopolymer; Photocatalysis
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/161167
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Geopolymer is an alternative binder to Portland cement. In this paper, nano-TiO₂ was incorporated into a metakaolin-based geopolymer matrix to impart photocatalytic properties into the binder. The self-cleaning performance of the resulting binders was revealed under UV and direct sunlight irradiation. The effects of nano-TiO₂ inclusion on compressive strength, microstructure, solar reflectivity, wettability, and decomposition of Rhodamine B (RhB) of the resulting binder were reported. Results showed the compressive strength, total solar reflectance (TSR), and photoinduced hydrophilicity and contaminate decomposition of geopolymer increases with TiO2 dosage. TiO2 particles mainly act as fillers to densify the binder. The resulting TiO2 metakaolin geopolymer has a compressive strength of 61 MPa and a surface TSR of 72%. The addition of TiO₂ imparts photocatalysis properties into the geopolymer, which activates super-hydrophilicity of the surface and assist in the complete decomposition of RhB dye after direct sunlight exposure.