Potential Applications of Geopolymer Cement-Based Composite as Self-Cleaning Coating: A Review

Nowadays, concepts of self-cleaning have received great attention in construction building materials. Self-cleaning with the presence of photocatalyst has been applied in building materials to overcome the problem of building surfaces becoming dirty after exposure for a long time in highly polluted areas. To date, the concept of green blending materials has led to the development of a new binding material for green materials, which is geopolymer with an addition of photocatalyst. This review focused on the development of conventional self-cleaning paste, including the method of preparation and the impact of adding photocatalyst on physical and mechanical properties. However, although self-cleaning has been widely applied in conventional cement paste, its applications in geopolymers are still in the early stages of development and require more research. Therefore, this paper also intended to review the current knowledge on properties of geopolymer cement-based composite and its potential to be applied as a self-cleaning coating.