The Effect of Interfacial Chemical Bonding in TiO2-SiO2 Composites on their Photocatalytic NOx Abatement Performance

The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant Ref: EP/M003299/1) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51461135005) International Joint Research Project (EPSRC-NSFC).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Photocatalyst efficiencies in concrete technology : the effect of photocatalyst placement

The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant Ref: EP/M003299/1) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51461135005, No. 51478370) International Joint Research Project (EPSRC-NSFC).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The Different Roles of Water in Photocatalytic DeNOx Mechanisms on TiO2 : A Basis for Engineering Nitrate Selectivity?

The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant Ref: EP/M003299/1) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51461135005) International Joint Research Project (EPSRC-NSFC).Peer reviewedPostprin

For the Improvement of Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of UHPC with Fiber Alignment using Carbon Nanotube and Graphite Nanoplatelet

This paper investigates the influence of carbon nanotube (CNT) and graphite nanoplatelet (GNP) on the microstructure and mechanical characteristics of UHPC with steel fiber alignment. The content of CNT and GNP ranged from 0 to 0.3%, by mass of binder. Predominant fiber alignment was manipulated using a flow-induced casting method during UHPC placement. Experiment results indicated that the increase of CNT and GNP content from 0 to 0.3% led to 15%, 40%, and 50% improvement in compressive strength, flexural strength, and T150 (dissipated energy) of UHPC, respectively. Fiber alignment was shown to increase flexural strength and T150 by 30% and 35%, respectively, compared to UHPC with random finer orientation. Moreover, the synergy of nanomaterial and fiber alignment can lead to a maximum enhancement of 80% and 90% in flexural strength and T150, respectively. Microstructural analysis indicated that CNT and GNP can enhance cement hydration and enable the bridging of cracks at nano or microscale. Moreover, the use of CNT and GNP reduced the porosities of fiber-matrix interface from 6%-12.5% to 4%–7% and UHPC matrix from 5.5% to 4%. This consequently contributed to the significant improvement in mechanical properties of UHPC

Photocatalytic Functionalized Aggregate : Enhanced Concrete Performance in Environmental Remediation

Funding: This research was funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant Ref: EP/M003299/1) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51461135005) International Joint Research Project (EPSRC-NSFC). The APC was funded by (GORD). Acknowledgments: The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant Ref: EP/M003299/1) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51461135005) International Joint Research Project (EPSRC-NSFC). L. Zheng and M. R. Jones from the Division of Civil Engineering, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK are gratefully acknowledged for the preparation of the mortars.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Use of Saturated Lightweight Sand to Improve the Mechanical and Microstructural Properties of UHPC with Fiber Alignment

This paper studied the influence of pre-saturated lightweight sand (LWS) on the mechanical and microstructural properties of UHPC cast with steel fiber alignment. The changes in hydration kinetics, porosity, nano-mechanical, and mechanical properties were studied. The LWS was used at 0–50% replacement volumes of total sand. Predominant fiber alignment was favored through a flow-induced casting method during casting of flexural prisms. Experiment results showed that the 28-d autogenous shrinkage was decreased from 450 to 275 μm/m with the LWS content increasing from 0 to 50%. The addition of 20% LWS led to maximum increases of 15%, 15%, and 20% in compressive strength, flexural strength, and T150, respectively, relative to UHPC made without any LWS. The use of 20% LWS combined with fiber alignment led to a synergistic effect of 45% and 40% on enhancing the flexural strength and T150, respectively, relative to UHPC without LWS and having random fiber orientation. The addition of LWS can enhance the cement hydration given the internal curing effect. Such enhanced cement hydration increased the percentage of high density and ultra-high density C–S–H from 50% to 75% and reduced the 28-d porosity from 12.5% to 9.5% with the use of 20% LWS. On the other hand, such internal curing can be overwhelmed by the introduced pores of LWS when excessive LWS was used, which led to significant increase in porosity of UHPC

A novel alkali-activated cement from mineral admixture, superabsorbent polymers, and alkali-doped carboxylate glass

Acknowledgments We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of China National Key R&D Program (Grant No. 2018YFE0106300) and National Nature Science Foundation of China (No: 51925205). We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of “111” project (No. B18038). We gratefully acknowledge the Dr. Helle Rüsz Hansen for her contribution to the development of the slow release glasses used in this paper.Peer reviewe

Photocatalytic Concrete for NOx Abatement: Supported TiO2 efficiencies and impacts

The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant Ref: EP/M003299/1) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51478370 and 51461135005) International Joint Research Project (EPSRC-NSFC)Peer reviewedPostprin

Photocatalytic Functionalized Aggregate : Enhanced Concrete Performance in Environmental Remediation

Funding: This research was funded by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant Ref: EP/M003299/1) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51461135005) International Joint Research Project (EPSRC-NSFC). The APC was funded by (GORD). Acknowledgments: The authors gratefully acknowledge funding from the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (Grant Ref: EP/M003299/1) and the Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51461135005) International Joint Research Project (EPSRC-NSFC). L. Zheng and M. R. Jones from the Division of Civil Engineering, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK are gratefully acknowledged for the preparation of the mortars.Peer reviewedPublisher PD