Solar driven nitrous acid formation on building material surfaces containing titanium dioxide: A concern for air quality in urban areas?

The photoenhanced uptake of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) to the surface of commercially available self-cleaning window glass has been studied under controlled laboratory conditions. This material is one of an array of modern building products which incorporate titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles and are finding increasing use in populated urban areas. Amongst the principal drivers for the use of these materials is that they are thought to facilitate the irreversible removal of pollutants such as NO2 and organic molecules from the atmosphere and thus act to remediate air quality. While it appears that TiO2 materials do indeed remove organic molecules from built environments, in this study we show that the photoenhanced uptake of NO2 to one example material, self-cleaning window glass, is in fact accompanied by the substantial formation (50–70%) of gaseous nitrous acid (HONO). This finding has direct and serious implications for the use of these materials in urban areas. Not only is HONO a harmful respiratory irritant, it is also readily photolysed by solar radiation leading to the formation of hydroxyl radicals (OH) together with the re-release of NOx as NO. The net effect of subsequent OH initiated chemistry can then be the further degradation of air quality through the formation of secondary pollutants such as ozone and VOC oxidation products. In summary, we suggest that a scientifically conceived technical strategy for air quality remediation based on this technology, while widely perceived as universally beneficial, could in fact have effects precisely opposite to those intended.