Improvement of indoor air quality by applying LiNbO3 on concrete

Abstract

Photocatalysts in ordinary building materials such as concrete create environment-friendly materials by which air pollution can be diminished. In this study, LiNbO3-coated concrete block was used to investigate pollutant removal efficiency, wherein toluene and ethylbenzene were selected as common indoor air pollutants. The effectiveness of using immobilized LiNbO3 to remove ethylbenzene and toluene from indoor air was investigated under various operational parameters. About 80 % of toluene and 82.5 % of ethylbenzene could be removed within 6 h under ultraviolet-visible light illumination using LiNbO3 as a photocatalyst in concrete. Therefore, in the near future, LiNbO3 may be used as a sustainable construction material that could contribute to indoor air purification.