Functionalization of mortars for controlling the indoor ambient of buildings

•Mortars able to control the temperature, humidity and air quality were produced.•The absorption process of superabsorbent polymer was followed up through rheology.•Phase change materials influenced the superabsorbent and nanotitania performance.

This paper reports on the use of nanoparticles of titania (nT), superabsorbent polymer (SA) and phase-change material (PCM) in order to obtain the functionalization of mortars. Single, binary and ternary mixtures with 0–1 wt.% nT, 0–1 wt.% SA, 0–20 wt.% PCM were based on flow table measurements (∼140 mm) to estimate the individual and interactive effect between the additives. In general, the mentioned additives showed distinct behaviors, but the PCM particles predominate on most of properties and also on the performance of others additives. SA particles exhibited quite different rheological behavior if compared with other additions, due to high affinity with the water and stronger absorption levels. The PCM-containing mortars attenuate and delayed the temperature changes, while 1SA particles resulted in higher hygroscopic capacity. Moreover, the photocatalytic degradation of NOx reached 40–45%. In addition, the moisture buffering value of 1SA, 1nT and 20PCM mortars were classified as good according to the Nordtest method.