Photocatalytic surface reactions on indoor wall paint

The reduction of indoor air pollutants by air cleaning systems has received considerable interest, and a number of techniques are now available. So far, the method of photocatalysis was mainly applied by use of titanium dioxide (TiO2) in flow reactors under UV light of high intensity. Nowadays, indoor wall paints are equipped with modified TiO2 to work as a catalyst under indoor daylight or artificial light. In chamber experiments carried out under indoor related conditions itwas shown thatthe method works for nitrogen dioxide with air exchange and for formaldehyde without air exchange at high concentrations. In further experiments with volatile organic compounds (VOCs), a small effect was found for terpenoids with high kOH rate constants. For other VOCs and carbon monoxide there was no degradation at all or the surface acted as a reversible sink. Secondary emissions from the reaction of paint constituents were observed on exposure to light. From the results it is concluded that recipes of photocatalytic wall paints need to be optimized for better efficiency under indoor conditions.