This document specifies a method for assessing the performance of photocatalytic inorganic materials contained in cement mortars and/or limes or ceramic-based matrices, paints or materials deposited as thin films or coatings on a variety of substrates for the photocatalytic abatement of nitric oxide in the gas phase. This method does not apply to the assessment of samples to be applied with flow perpendicular to the surface or flow permeating the surface itself as polymeric and paper filters, honeycomb structures and suchlike.
The performance for the photocatalytic sample under test is evaluated by measuring the degradation rate of nitric oxide (NO) using the method specified herein. The photocatalytic abatement rate is calculated from the observed rate by eliminating the effects of mass transfer. The intrinsic photocatalytic abatement rate is an intrinsic property of the material tested and makes it possible to distinguish the photocatalytic activities of various products with an absolute scale defined with physical and engineering meaning.
For the measurements and calculations described in this document the concentration of nitrogen oxides (NOx) is defined as the stoichiometric sum of nitric oxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).