Investigation of the effect of metal oxides modified with plants on antibacterial properties of cement mortar

Mortars, used in many areas as construction materials, can be exposed to microbiological activities. As a result of this exposure, mortars undergo deformation and lose their mechanical properties. In this study, nano metal oxides which modified with plants were used to eliminate the aforementioned problem. For this purpose, in the first stage, nano-sized metal oxides (MeO), were prepared by utilizing plants. In the second stage, MeOs were incorporated to mortar together with nanoclay at a rate of 1% by weight of the cement. In the last stage, the chemical (FTIR and XRD), physical (water absorption, UPV and BET), mechanical (compression and bending), morphological (SEM) and antibacterial (disk diffusion) properties of the produced mortars were investigated. At the end of the study, the vibrations of Si-O and Ca-O originating from interactions the main hydration products, C-S-H and CH, were determined in the FT-IR spectrum, and the peaks of C-S-H, AFt (ettringite) and CH (portlandite) were determined in the XRD patterns. When the physical properties were examined, the pore volume of the ZnO was lower than other MeOs. A decrease in water absorption values was observed with the incorporation of MeOs. When the UPV results were examined, mortars with MeO revealed higher UPV value. When the mechanical properties were examined, MeO caused different behaviors on the mechanical properties. The flexural strength increased with the addition of FeO, but decreased with the addition of CuO and ZnO. The compressive strength of the ZnO incorporated mortar was higher than other MeOs. In the microstructure examination, it was observed that MeOs were distributed homogeneously in the mortar without forming agglomeration. It has also been determined that MeOs have a gap-filling effect. For antibacterial activities, aggregate-free mortar was produced using 1% MeO. When the antibacterial effects of these mortars were examined, MeO incorporated mortars did not show antibacterial resistance against E.Coli and S.aerus without forming a zone. However, the FeO incorporated mortar created a small zone against soil bacterium, Bacillus subtilis. It is thought that the results of this study will contribute to the literature and the construction industry. Keywords: Mortar, metal oxide, Mechanical strength, Antibacterial properties