Indoor environment control with functional mortars

In developed countries, people spend most of the time inside buildings, either their offices or houses. Indoor air quality has a strong impact on wellbeing since unhealthy or uncomfortable environments can cause illness and low productivity. The selection of materials that contribute to improve indoor air quality improves significantly the building quality and sustainability. Mortars, because they are one of the most commonly used materials, represent a strong environmental impact in construction. Preparing mortars with new and innovative functionalities, that promote energy savings and increase air quality, help to develop buildings with better environmental performance. However, adding a new functionality comprises the introduction of new additives into the mortar matrix, causing microstructural modifications that influence fresh and hardened state properties. Adding new additives always imply a compromise between functionality and durability. In this chapter, was investigated the introduction of a photocatalytic additive and a phase change material, in single and binary formulations. Latent heat storage, selfcleaning and depolluting properties were studied and the impact of the additives in the mortar final properties was assessed. This chapter proved that functional mortars maintain good fresh and hardened state properties improving sustainability in new and historical buildings.