Sustainable photocatalytic porcelain grés slabs active under LED light for indoor depollution and bacteria reduction

Ceramic tile is one of the most widely used materials in construction, and in the last years, the demand for environmentally responsible construction and the ever more restrictive environmental requirements derived from the legislation are increased in the functional tiles. Substituting antimicrobial tiles for other surfaces support is important to have a healthier environment, and in this, it is essential to improve ability to control and destroy microorganisms in many organizations and industries such as health care, food and drink, water treatment, and military industries]. There are several approaches that have been studied to obtain a multifunctional surface for ceramic tiles using both soluble salt solutions and sol-gel technology. In particular, TiO2 improves the surface cleanability properties, and it is widely utilized as a self-cleaning and self-disinfecting material for surface coating in many applications. These properties have been applied in removing bacteria and harmful organic materials from water and air, as well as in self-cleaning or self-sterilizing surfaces for places such as medical centers. As well known, TiO2 activity is influenced by a variety of factors such as crystal structure, surface area, nanoparticles size distribution, porosity, and a number and density of hydroxyl groups on the TiO2 surface. Thus, starting from the point that TiO2 deposition on ceramic tiles is a key factor in the industrial production, their preparation and characterization are at the base of a new kind of fired tiles able to reduce polluting molecules present in air thanks to new photocatalytic properties.