Photocatalytic activity of porous magnesium oxychloride cement combined with AC/TiO2 composites

As a decorative material, magnesium oxychloride cement was used as a photocatalyst supporter to purify the pollutants indoors. Due to excellent adsorption properties of activated carbon (AC), the photocatalytic composties, TiO₂/AC, were prepared and introduced into the porous magnesium oxychloride cement (PMOC) substrate to composite a sort of photocatalytic cementitious material (PCM). The optimal composite processes were assessed by gas chromatograph, using toluene as the target. By comparing the perspective of toluene purification and thorough decomposition, it can be found that the optimal mass ratio for TiO₂/AC composites is 4/25, and the heat treatment to TiO₂/AC sample at 350 °C can play the optimal synergetic role of adsorbents in photocatalytic process. The synergistic effect of TiO₂, AC and magnesium oxychloride cement (MOC) was also evaluated by gas chromatograph. One-take molding process was adopted to introduce the TiO₂/AC into PMOC substrate, and its optimal mass fraction was 4 wt%, while the appropriate density of substrate was 0.35 g/cm3. Toluene degradation showed that the prepared PCM can degrade pollutants efficiently. The appropriate treatment process of TiO₂/AC, mass of TiO₂/AC, substrate density, and stable pore structure should be coordinated to maximize the adsorption-photodegradation performance. The combination of photocatalytic materials, adsorbents, and building materials provided a new idea for the application of photocatalysis.