Photocatalytic NOx abatement and self-cleaning performance of cementitious composites with g-C3N4 nanosheets under visible light

Journal article (2019)

Authors

Yu Yang Fuzhou University
Tao Ji Fuzhou University
Wenyue Su Fuzhou University
B. Yang Chengdu Design & Research Institute of Building Materials Industry Co.
Y. Zhang Fuzhou University, Materials and Environment - CEG
Zhengxian Yang Washington State University Pullman, Fuzhou University
Research Group
Materials and Environment (CEG) (TU Delft)
Self-cleaning Cement hydration Micro-hardness Photocatalytic depollution performance G-C3N4 nanosheets
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Published Date

2019

Language

English

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Faculty

Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Department

Materials- Mechanics- Management & Design

Research Group

Materials and Environment

Abstract

The combination of photocatalyst with cementitious materials for air pollution abatement and self-cleaning has gained considerable attention. However, the most popularly used photocatalytic cementitious composites based on TiO2 achieve the purification function under ultraviolet sunlight, significantly impeding a broader application of photocatalytic cementitious composites. Here, the photocatalytic cementitious composites were prepared by incorporating g-C3N4 nanosheets (CNNs) in Portland cement. With the increase of CNNs content, the photocatalytic NOx abatement and self-cleaning performance was notably improved, while the micro-hardness of cementitious composites increased first and then decreased. Among the three mixing dosages (0.5%, 1% and 2% by weight of cement), the cementitious composite admixed with 2% CNNs showed the highest photocatalytic NOx abatement efficiency of 227.3 μmol m−2 h−1, and could degrade the rhodamine B within 40 min under visible light. Additionally, its microscopic hardness was 5.4% higher than the one without CNNs, suggesting that a moderate amount of CNNs (below 2%) in cementitious composites was effective in achieving an improved photocatalytic depollution performance.