Compressive strength of concrete reinforced by TiO₂ nanoparticles

With the economic development and the living quality improvement, the requirement for protecting the living environment is getting higher. From the perspective of civil engineering, how to make buildings be 'green' to environment is a hot and challenging topic at present. At the same time, concrete has some shortcomings as a quasi-brittle material. Therefore, further optimizations regarding the strength and toughness of concrete have become the goal of scientific and technological researchers. Due to the outstanding property of nanostructures, the specific surface area of Titanium dioxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles increases greatly. The significant increase of nanoparticles will improve the microstructure of concrete and consequently enhance the role of concrete strength. In addition, TiO₂ nanoparticles can function as a photocatalyst and will catalyze the decomposition of polluted gases in the air, such as nitrogen oxides, by absorbing more light and enhancing the redox reaction. Therefore, TiO₂ nanoparticles can improve the mechanical properties of concrete and degrade harmful gases to purify air. In this paper, the effect of weight ratios of TiO₂ nanoparticles on the compressive properties of concrete is investigated by performing concrete compressive experiment. The changing trends due to different weight ratios of TiO₂ nanoparticles subjected to different temperature treatments are obtained. Lastly, the optimal weight ratio of TiO₂ nanoparticle is proposed and the suitable temperature condition is discussed for future applications.