Nanotechnology in the battle for air quality improvement

Addressing this very important problem of indoor air quality (iAQ) using photocatalysis, TCM Group, has focused its long research activities on the development and design of innovative photocatalytic materials which are activated in the presence of visible radiation.

Recently, TCM group has successfully realized the synthesis of innovative photocatalytic material activated using visible light (indoor like) suitable to be incorporated either into concrete surfaces or as coatings (walls, floors) for indoor applications and/or for external uses (sidewalks, parking lots, etc), contributing to improved air quality either indoors or in urban environments.

This photocatalytic material (in powder form) is already patented in Greece and by the European Patent Organization. The material is suitable for the degradation of pollutants such as CO, NOx and VOC polluting elements such as aldehydes (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde), BTEX, etc., using indoor like light radiation. This photocatalytic material is harmless to humans and suitable for indoor air-cleaning applications.

The novelty of the proposed photocatalytic material lies on the degradation of indoor pollutants using Visible Light (45% of the solar spectrum) as opposed to existing products in the market which operate by the use of UV radiation (5% of the solar spectrum).

[Please watch the following presentation by Prof. G. Kiriakidis - Dr. V. Binas]