Vojo Jovanov^1,*, Snežana Vučetić², Biljana Angjusheva¹, Jonjaua Ranogajec², Emilija Fidanchevski¹

¹ Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, Ruger Bosković 16, 1000 Skopje, Republic of N. Macedonia

² University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Technology, bul. Cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

^*vojo@tmf.ukim.edu.mk

https://doi.org/10.65614/uisk_yucorr.2025.26.ch31

Abstract

Ilite/ TiO₂ and kaolinite/TiO₂ coatings, impregnated with 10 wt.% nano TiO₂ using mild conditions, was applied to and investigated on three types of substrates: porous (clay roofing tiles), highly porous (clay-fly ash composite), and non-porous (window glass). The coatings were analyzed for their capillary water absorption and surface properties, including roughness, micro-hardness, and hydrophilicity. The functional properties of self-cleaning and photocatalytic activity were evaluated by measuring the initial contact angle and the photodegradation of the model pollutant Rhodamine B, which was assessed during UV/VIS irradiation.

The study suggests that the applied synthesis by mechanical activation methodology resulted in a homogenous distribution of TiO₂ as an active component in the photocatalytic coating, leading to better surface and functional properties. Novel natural clay/TiO₂-based coatings are advantageous due to their low cost and simple preparation, ensuring high photo-degradation efficiency.

Keywords: nano-TiO₂; kaolinite clay; illite clay; mechanical activation; photocatalytic coating

Izvod

Premazi ilit/TiO₂ i kaolinit/TiO₂, impregnirani sa 10 tež.% TiO₂ korišćenjem nove metode pod blagim uslovima, naneti su i ispitani na tri vrste podloga: poroznim (glineni crepovi), visoko poroznim (kompozit gline i pepela) i neporoznim (prozorsko staklo). Premazi su analizirani na osnovu njihove kapilarne apsorpcije vode i površinskih svojstava, uključujući hrapavost, mikrotvrdoću i hidrofilnost. Funkcionalna svojstva samočišćenja i fotokatalitičke aktivnosti procenjena su merenjem početnog kontaktnog ugla i fotodegradacije modelnog zagađivača rodamina B, koja je procenjena tokom UV/Vis zračenja.

Studija sugeriše da je primenjena sinteza metodologijom mehaničke aktivacije rezultirala homogenom raspodelom TiO₂ kao aktivne komponente u fotokatalitičkom premazu, što je dovelo do boljih površinskih i funkcionalnih svojstava. Novi premazi na bazi prirodne gline/TiO₂ su predni zbog svoje niske cene i jednostavne pripreme, obezbeđujući visoku efikasnost fotodegradacije.

Ključne reči: nano-TiO₂; kaolinitna glina; ilitna glina; mehanička aktivacija; fotokatalitički premaz