Waterproof Aerated Bricks from Stone Powder Waste through Nano-TiO2 Structured Hydrophobic Surface Modification

Abstract

To eliminate the negative impacts of waste stone powder that arises from stone processing, the waste was recycled into aerated bricks with a porous structure that exhibited exceptional properties when applied in buildings. However, the pores easily absorb rainwater and dust, causing performance degradation and mold growth inside. In this paper, we have developed through hydrothermal reactions an environmentally friendly aqueous suspension, containing homemade highly dispersive TiO2 nanoparticles modified with super-hydrophobic groups on the surface. The suspension was coated onto the aerated bricks, creating a super-hydrophobic surface with a highly textured hierarchical structure. A large contact angle of 146° tested on the surface and negligible water absorption for 24 h immersion demonstrate the excellent water proofing performance, holding a great promise for large scale applications in construction and buildings.

Thin Organic‐Inorganic Anti‐Fouling Hybrid‐Films for Microreactor Components

“…[ 76,77 ] The C–C‐stretching vibrations produce peaks at 1509 cm −1 and 1271 cm −1 with the latter probably being affected by contributions from Si‐CH 2 vibrations from the FOTS. [ 72 ] While the presence of CF 2 – and CF 3 ‐groups is confirmed by a signal at 1224 cm −1 , [ 70 ] peaks located at 1183 cm −1 , 1014 cm −1 , and 928 cm −1 can most probably be attributed to a combination of bending δ (CCH) with C–C‐stretching, originating from the ligands of the Zr‐complex. [ 76 ] Bands corresponding to the stretching of Zr‐O acac or Zr–F should appear at wavenumbers below 500 cm −1 , [ 76,78 ] but were not observed in this study due to the use of a mid‐infrared IR‐spectrometer.…”

“…The peak at 1133 cm −1 can be assigned to Si-O-C bonds. [70] The signal at 1049 cm −1 can be attributed to the characteristic siloxane bonds (𝜈 a Si-O-Si) [70,71] and the Si-OH bending gives rise to a well-developed peak ≈988 cm −1 . [72] In addition to the OH-band of adsorbed water, which can be distinguished into "liquid" (≈3400 cm −1 ) and "icelike" (≈3200 cm −1 ), [73] another weak band was detected in the spectrum at wavenumbers >3600 cm −1 .…”

Special Issue on “New Materials and Techniques for Environmental Science”

“…Besides photodegradation, TiO 2 materials can also be used for other environmental applications. Li and co-workers [9] introduced novel waterproof aerated bricks based on the hydrophobic surface modification of stone powder waste with TiO 2 nanoparticles, which created a super-hydrophobic surface on the aerated bricks. It is clear that using of super-hydrophobic TiO 2 nanoparticles inhibited the absorption of rainwater and dust, promoting the reusing of wasters and holding high potential for large-scale construction and buildings.…”

In Situ Construction of Bronze/Anatase TiO2 Homogeneous Heterojunctions and Their Photocatalytic Performances

“…The modification of inexpensive, widely available photocatalysts to enhance their photocatalytic performances has become an important research direction for photocatalytic degradation technology [ 9 , 10 , 11 ]. TiO 2 is a non-toxic, non-hazardous, and low-cost photocatalyst with stable performance, but it exhibits poor photocatalytic performance, which must be enhanced to meet the needs of practical applications [ 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. The low performance of TiO 2 photocatalysts is attributed to the easy recombination of photogenerated electron–hole pairs and the difficulty of visible light absorption.…”