Waste-to-resource strategy to fabricate functionalized material from waste brick

Waste brick (WB), as a major type of construction and demolition waste, has posed much potential disasters to the environment and society due to the main disposal method of direct landfill. In this work, we presented a sustainable and promising recycling approach to transform WB into TiO2 nanoneedles functionalized waste brick grain material (TiO2/WBG) via a simple physical treatment and in-situ growth technique. The raw WBG can be as promising substrate material due to excellent chemical stability. After surface functionalization of TiO2 nanoneedles, the obtained TiO2/WBG exhibits significantly enhanced hierarchical porous structure. Based on the inherent chemical properties and hierarchical structure of TiO2 nanoneedles coating, TiO2/WBG shows special wettability of excellent underwater oleophobicity and photodegradability of organic pollutants. Besides, the modified TiO2/WBG with low-surface-energy chemical obtains fine hydrophobicity. Therefore, the as-prepared TiO2/WBG is believed to hold potential applications in oil/water separation, pollutant degradation and water purification. This work opens new avenues for effectively utilizing waste brick as resource to fabricate functionalized material with potential application value, showing far-reaching value and significance in fundamental research and environmental protection.