Assessment of the Indoor Air Purification by Photocatalytic Paints

Abstract

Photocatalytic building materials containing TiO2 were extensively studied for outdoor applications using solar radiation. Nowadays, the market offers a wide variety of these materials with self-cleaning and air purification functionalities. However, heterogeneous photocatalysis applied in indoor construction materials was less developed. The objective of this work is to investigate the photocatalytic performance of carbon doped TiO2 in replacement of the normal pigments in indoor wall paint formulations. To achieve this goal, the photocatalytic oxidation of acetaldehyde in gas phase was carried out. The air decontamination process was conducted us-ing regular indoor light in a bench scale chamber photoreactor simulating a room. The main environmental conditions that affect the photocatalytic process were varied: air flow rate, irradiance, relative humidity and acetaldehyde concentration. The results were analyzed through the response surface methodology and revealed the air purifying power of photocatalytic paints under indoor conditions.