Authors: Heather Dylla Marwa M Hassan
Publish Date: 2012/03/24
Volume: 14, Issue: 4, Pages: 825-
Abstract
With the increasing use of titanium dioxide TiO2 nanoparticles in selfcleaning materials such as photocatalytic concrete pavements the release of nanoparticles into the environment is inevitable Nanoparticle concentration particle size surface area elemental composition and surface morphology are pertinent to determine the associated risks In this study the potential of exposure to synthetic nanoparticles released during construction activities for application of photocatalytic pavements was measured during laboratorysimulated construction activities of photocatalytic mortar overlays and in an actual field application of photocatalytic spray coat A scanning mobility particle sizer system measured the size distribution of nanoparticles released during laboratory and field activities Since incidental nanoparticles are released during construction activities nanoparticle emissions were compared to those from similar activities without nanoTiO2 Nanoparticle counts and size distribution suggest that synthetic nanoparticles are released during application of photocatalytic pavements In order to identify the nanoparticle source nanoparticles were also collected for offline characterization using transmission electron microscopy However positive identification of synthetic nanoparticles was not possible due to difficulties in obtaining highresolution images As a result further research is recommended to identify nanoparticle composition and sources
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