Photocatalysis has been applied for over a decade to various materials – among which photocatalsyt cementitious materials – to obtain a self-cleaning (or more just , a maintenance of the primary color of the surface) and , more recently, a decollating effect in building materials
http://www.worldcement.com/documents/Italcementi%20proof.pdf
In particular, the innovative utilization of a system comprising TiO2 and cement has been developed to maintain the aesthetic characteristics of concrete structures.
This innovative approach in order to offer an environmental friendly solution in the building market is becoming more and more relevant and recognized for green buildings construction. These mateail can be adopted to promote a whole-building approach to environmental health such as in the case of the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) worldwide certification. Indeed in LEED, points are awarded for use fo photocatalytic cements will obtain a variety of credit points in the “New Construction and Major Renovation” Categories LEED rating system, promoted by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
A broad list of most common applications of photocatalytic material can be summarized as follows.
Horizontal applications
- Concrete pavements
- Paving blocks and paving plates
- Other coating systems for pavements and roads (whitetopping, self-leveling mortars,…)
- Roofing tiles
- Roofing panels
- Cement-based tiles
Vertical applications
- Indoor and outdoor paints
- Finishing coatings, plasters and other final rendering cement-based materials
- Covering precast panels
- Permanent formworks
- Masonry blocks
- Sound=absorbent elements for buildings and roads applications
- Traffic divider elements
- Street Furniture
- Retaining fair-faced elements
Tunnels
- Paints and rederings
- Concrete panels
- Concrete pavements
- Ultra-thin white topping
