Developing Novel Photocatalytic Cementitious Permeable Pavements for Depollution of Contaminants and Impurities in Urban Cities

Photocatalyst such as Titanium Dioxide (TiO2) has been recently introduced as a nanoparticle into cementitiouspermeable pavements. Combining photocatalytic compounds within concrete permeable pavements can aid with depollutionof several contaminants found in urban water streams and air impurities. This paper presents research carried out at the Universityof Greenwich, UK using photocatalytic concrete with varying percentages of TiO2 (0 %, 1% and 5%) to assess thelevels depollution which can be achieved. Concrete samples were testing against the degradation of 2, 4-DichlorophenoxyaceticAcid, a harmful chemical found in herbicides. This advanced oxidation process can aid in the reduction of urban pollution froman air and water perspective, improving sustainability for urban cities. Self-cleaning benefits of photocatalytic concrete permeablepavements can be used to keep urban infrastructure cleaner and more aesthetically pleasing. Experimental tests werecarried out on the characterisation of inorganics through X-Ray diffraction and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy toensure that the structures of the concrete samples were not altered by addition of the nanoparticles (photocatalyst). Experimentalresults were compared to that found in previous literature and confirmed that the addition of 5% TiO2 did not affect the structureof the concrete samples and can be a viable option used in urban infrastructure such as permeable pavements.