Cementitious materials for self-cleaning and de-polluting facade surfaces

The aim of the European Project PICADA, as Photocatalytic Innovative Coverings Applications for De-pollution Assessment, is actually to develop a range of novel materials and to evaluate large scale effect (typically in a canyon street).The self-cleaning and de-polluting abilities arise from the photocatalytic properties of titanium dioxide which can be introduced in the building matrix. This paper presents, in particular, results obtained on the cementitious formulations containing nanoparticle composites of titanium dioxide. Investigations were undertaken in the laboratory to evaluate the self-cleaning and de-polluting properties of these products on organic molecules as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).