The Nanofunctional and Nanocomposite Materials Laboratory (NNML) is part of the Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology of NCSR "Demokritos". NNML is a fully equipped laboratory, accredited with four ISO Standards that surve the purposes of the project:

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​ISO 22197-1:2016 Test method for air-purification performance of semiconducting photocatalytic materials - Part 1: Removal of nitric oxide

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ISO 22197-2:2019 Test method for air-purification performance of semiconducting photocatalytic materials - Part 2: Removal of acetaldehyde

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ISO 27447:2019 Test method for antibacterial activity of semiconducting photocatalytic materials

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ISO/IEC 17025:2017 General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories

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The project "2D PHOTOSTRUCTURE" aims at the development of photocatalytic coatings containing g-C3N4/TiO2 heterostructures, for indoor and outdoor air purification. In this project, g-C3N4/TiO2 heterostructures will be synthesized in order to create coatings suitable for oxidation of gaseous indoor (acetaldehyde, acetone etc) and outdoor (NOx etc) pollutants, with simultaneous antibacterial activity.

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The heterostructures will be prepared at NCSR Demokritos with conjugation of the two semiconductors by modifying their surface charges. The heterostructures will be further processed with metallic salts and alkaline earths, in order to enhance their activity under visible light irradiation and their adsorption capacity of gaseous pollutants respectively. Furthermore, they will be fully characterized by methods available at NCSR Demokritos, while their photocatalytic activity for oxidation of gaseous pollutants and their antibacterial activity will also be evaluated using ISO procedures already developed in the "Nanocomposite and Nanofunctional Materials" laboratory.

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In cooperation with NanoPhos SA, the development of photocatalytic coatings with addition of the new heterostructures will follow. With the expertise of NanoPhos SA, specific solutions for the photocatalytic coatings spraying will be created. Specially designed sites of NanoPhos SA will be coated with the new materials in order to make an in situ realistic assessment of their photocatalytic properties and their viability on the market.

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The activity of the new products for air purification from gaseous pollutants as well as their antibacterial activity will be examined. The innovation of the new products lies in their unique flexibility and the control capability. Due to the different modification of the added g-C3N4/TiO2 heterostructures, the coatings can be applied in either outdoor or indoor spaces, utilizing UV and/or visible radiation respectively. At the same time, the coating of walls and surfaces is made easy and straightforward with the aerosol techniques already developed by NanoPhos SA.

 

Scientific goals

• Synthesis of 2D g-C3N4/TiO2 heterostructures for air pollutant oxidation.

• Incorporation of metallic nanoparticles (Ag) for activity enhancement under indoor light.

• Amphiphilic modification for controlled dispersion in formulations.

• Evaluation of the photocatalytic activity and investigation of the reaction mechanism.

 

Technological goals

• Determination of the optimal g-C3N4/TiO2 composition for incorporation in coatings.

• Incorporation of the novel heterostructures in outdoor and indoor coatings.

• Evaluation of the photocatalytic and antibacterial activity of the coating.

• Study of the properties and stability of the photocatalytic surfaces.