Application of TiO₂ additive to concrete for pyrene degradation. Compressive strength of photocatalytic concrete

Abstract

In this work, samples of fine-grained concrete were made with the addition of TiO2 powder in a range of 1-3 wt% relative to the cement. The photocatalytic properties of photocatalytic concrete for the degradation of pyrene in solutions of sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate under UV irradiation were investigated. To evaluate the efficiency of photodegradation, the method of luminescence analysis was used. It was found that the degree of degradation of pyrene in solutions using photocatalytic concrete reaches 25% after 120 minutes under UV irradiation. The compressive strength of the manufactured samples was also studied. A decrease in strength of no more than 24% was registered. To prevent the negative effect of the TiO2 additive, a plasticizer was used. In this case, the compressive strength increased from 19 to 31% relative to the samples without plasticizer.