Synergistic Effects of Nano Titanium Dioxide and Nano Zinc Oxide on the Physical and Rheological Properties of Asphalt Binder
Downloads
Enhancing asphalt binder performance against anticipated distresses is a critical focus in pavement engineering. This study investigates the synergistic influence of nano titanium dioxide (NT) and nano zinc oxide (NZ) on asphalt binder performance. Nine NT:NZ combinations (1:1 to 3:3) were prepared with 1–3% by binder weight, in addition to a reference binder (RB). The performance test program included; conventional tests (penetration, softening point, viscosity, and ductility), Dynamic Shear Rheometer (DSR) for performance grading, Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR) for rutting evaluation, and Linear Amplitude Sweep (LAS) for fatigue resistance. Furthermore, Statistical analysis (ANOVA) was performed to determine the significance of nanomaterial interactions, and a cost–performance evaluation assessed economic feasibility. The results revealed that the combined use of these types of NM increased binder stiffness and resistance to aging. Additionally, the high-temperature PG grade increased from 70°C to 76°C for all NM-modified asphalt binders, except for the combinations of 1% NT and 1% NZ, as well as the (1:2) binder. On the other hand, MSCR results showed a reduction of up to 32% in non-recoverable creep compliance (Jnr3.2), whereas the LAS test verified extended fatigue life at a 2.5% strain level for low dosages of the NM combination, i.e., (1:1). The 1:1 NT:NZ blend exhibited the highest cost–performance efficiency, providing a balanced improvement in rutting and fatigue resistance. Overall, the synergistic incorporation of NT and NZ significantly enhanced the binder performance, offering practical insights for selecting nanomaterials in sustainable pavement engineering.
Downloads
[1] Zhang, H., Yu, J., Wang, H., & Xue, L. (2011). Investigation of microstructures and ultraviolet aging properties of organo-montmorillonite/SBS modified bitumen. Materials Chemistry and Physics, 129(3), 769–776. doi:10.1016/j.matchemphys.2011.04.078.
[2] Yang, Q., Liu, Q., Zhong, J., Hong, B., Wang, D., & Oeser, M. (2019). Rheological and micro-structural characterization of bitumen modified with carbon nanomaterials. Construction and Building Materials, 201, 580–589. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.12.173.
[3] Li, R., Xiao, F., Amirkhanian, S., You, Z., & Huang, J. (2017). Developments of nano materials and technologies on asphalt materials – A review. Construction and Building Materials, 143, 633–648. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.03.158.
[4] Hamid, A., Baaj, H., & El-Hakim, M. (2023). Temperature and Aging Effects on the Rheological Properties and Performance of Geopolymer-Modified Asphalt Binder and Mixtures. Materials, 16(3), 1012. doi:10.3390/ma16031012.
[5] Adnan, A. M., & Wang, J. (2025). Rheological and storage stability improvement of SBR modified asphalt binder using graphene. Road Materials and Pavement Design, 1–23. doi:10.1080/14680629.2025.2523397.
[6] Taherkhani, H., Afroozi, S., & Javanmard, S. (2017). Comparative Study of the Effects of Nanosilica and Zyco-Soil Nanomaterials on the Properties of Asphalt Concrete. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 29(8), 4017054. doi:10.1061/(asce)mt.1943-5533.0001889.
[7] Tanzadeh, J., & Otadi, A. (2018). Testing and evaluating the effect of adding fibers and nanomaterials on improving the performance properties of thin surface asphalt. Journal of Testing and Evaluation, 47(1), 654–677. doi:10.1520/JTE20170409.
[8] Karki, B., Berg, A., Saha, R., Melaku, R. S., & Gedafa, D. S. (2018). Effect of Nanomaterials on Binder Performance. International Conference on Transportation and Development 2018, 332–338. doi:10.1061/9780784481554.034.
[9] Ganesh, K., & Prajwal, D. T. (2020). Studies on fatigue performance of modified dense bituminous macadam mix using nano silica as an additive. International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology, 13(1), 75–82. doi:10.1007/s42947-019-0087-z.
[10] Albayati, A. H., Latief, R. H., Al-Mosawe, H., & Wang, Y. (2024). Nano-Additives in Asphalt Binder: Bridging the Gap between Traditional Materials and Modern Requirements. Applied Sciences (Switzerland), 14(10), 3998. doi:10.3390/app14103998.
[11] Albayati, A. H., Al-Ani, A. F., Byzyka, J., Al-Kheetan, M., & Rahman, M. (2024). Enhancing Asphalt Performance and Its Long-Term Sustainability with Nano Calcium Carbonate and Nano Hydrated Lime. Sustainability (Switzerland), 16(4), 1507. doi:10.3390/su16041507.
[12] Bica, B. O., & de Melo, J. V. S. (2020). Concrete blocks nano-modified with zinc oxide (ZnO) for photocatalytic paving: Performance comparison with titanium dioxide (TiO2). Construction and Building Materials, 252, 119120. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119120.
[13] Huang, H., Wang, Y., Wu, X., Zhang, J., & Huang, X. (2024). Nanomaterials for Modified Asphalt and Their Effects on Viscosity Characteristics: A Comprehensive Review. Nanomaterials, 14(18), 1503. doi:10.3390/nano14181503.
[14] Lima, O., Afonso, C., Segundo, I. R., Landi, S., Homem, N. C., Freitas, E., Alcantara, A., Branco, V. C., Soares, S., Soares, J., Teixeira, V., & Carneiro, J. (2022). Asphalt Binder “Skincare”? Aging Evaluation of an Asphalt Binder Modified by Nano-TiO2. Nanomaterials, 12(10), 1678. doi:10.3390/nano12101678.
[15] Hu, Z., Xu, T., Liu, P., & Oeser, M. (2021). Developed photocatalytic asphalt mixture of open graded friction course for degrading vehicle exhaust. Journal of Cleaner Production, 279, 123453. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123453.
[16] Rondón-Quintana, H. A., Ruge-Cárdenas, J. C., & Zafra-Mejía, C. A. (2023). The Use of Zinc Oxide in Asphalts: Review. Sustainability, 15(14), 11070. doi:10.3390/su151411070.
[17] Haghshenas, H. F., Rea, R., & Haghshenas, D. F. (2019). Aging resistance of asphalt binders through the use of zinc diethyldithiocarbamate. Petroleum Science and Technology, 37(22), 2275–2282. doi:10.1080/10916466.2019.1633348.
[18] Zhang, H., Zhu, C., & Kuang, D. (2016). Physical, Rheological, and Aging Properties of Bitumen Containing Organic Expanded Vermiculite and Nano-Zinc Oxide. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 28(5), 4015203. doi:10.1061/(asce)mt.1943-5533.0001499.
[19] Tanzadeh, J., Vahedi, F., Pezhouhan, T. K., & Tanzadeh, R. (2013). Laboratory study on the effect of nano Tio2 on rutting performance of asphalt pavements. Advanced Materials Research, 622, 990–994. doi:10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.622-623.990.
[20] Buhari, R., Abdullah, M. E., Ahmad, M. K., Chong, A. L., Haini, R., & Abu Bakar, S. K. (2018). Physical and rheological properties of Titanium Dioxide modified asphalt. E3S Web of Conferences, 34. doi:10.1051/e3sconf/20183401035.
[21] Qian, G., Yu, H., Gong, X., & Zhao, L. (2019). Impact of Nano-TiO2 on the NO2 degradation and rheological performance of asphalt pavement. Construction and Building Materials, 218, 53–63. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.05.075.
[22] Dell’Antonio Cadorin, N., Victor Staub de Melo, J., Borba Broering, W., Luiz Manfro, A., & Salgado Barra, B. (2021). Asphalt nanocomposite with titanium dioxide: Mechanical, rheological and photoactivity performance. Construction and Building Materials, 289, 123178. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123178.
[23] Ameli, A., Hossein Pakshir, A., Babagoli, R., Norouzi, N., Nasr, D., & Davoudinezhad, S. (2020). RETRACTED: Experimental investigation of the influence of Nano TiO2 on rheological properties of binders and performance of stone matrix asphalt mixtures containing steel slag aggregate. Construction and Building Materials, 265, 120750. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.120750.
[24] Weigel, S., Simnofske, D., Rückert, P., Stephan, D., Mollenhauer, K., & Dudenhöfer, B. (2020). Effects of Titanium Dioxide on the Structure and Properties of Bitumen. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 32(3), 4020001. doi:10.1061/(asce)mt.1943-5533.0003074.
[25] Aboelmagd, A. Y., Moussa, G. S., Enieb, M., Khedr, S., & Alla, E. S. M. A. (2021). Evaluation of Hot Mix Asphalt and Binder Performance Modified with High Content of Nano Silica Fume. Journal of Engineering Sciences, 49(4), 378–399. doi:10.21608/jesaun.2021.70733.1046.
[26] Tavares Marinho Filho, P. G., De Figueirêdo Lopes Lucena, L. C., & Costa Lopes, M. (2022). Investigation of titanium nanoparticles-reinforced Asphalt Composites Using Rheological Tests. Transportes, 30(2), 2614. doi:10.14295/transportes.v30i2.2614.
[27] Enieb, M., Cengizhan, A., Karahancer, S., & Eltwati, A. (2023). Evaluation Of Physical-Rheological Properties of Nano Titanium Dioxide Modified Asphalt Binder and Rutting Resistance of Modified Mixture. International Journal of Pavement Research and Technology, 16(2), 285–303. doi:10.1007/s42947-021-00131-0.
[28] Mohammed, A. M., & Abed, A. H. (2024). Effect of nano-TiO2 on physical and rheological properties of asphalt cement. Open Engineering, 14(1), 20220520. doi:10.1515/eng-2022-0520.
[29] Albayati, A. H., Oukaili, N. K., Moudhafar, M. M., Allawi, A. A., Said, A. I., & Ibrahim, T. H. (2024). Experimental Study to Investigate the Performance-Related Properties of Modified Asphalt Concrete Using Nanomaterials Al2O3, SiO2, and TiO2. Materials, 17(17), 4279. doi:10.3390/ma17174279.
[30] Zhang, H., Gao, Y., Guo, G., Zhao, B., & Yu, J. (2018). Effects of ZnO particle size on properties of asphalt and asphalt mixture. Construction and Building Materials, 159, 578–586. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.11.016.
[31] Yunus, K. N. M., Zainorabidin, A., Kamaruddin, N. H. M., Ahmad, M. K., Anuar, N. F. N., & Yaakop, S. N. K. (2022). Physical and Chemical Properties of Nano Zinc Oxide Modified Asphalt Binder. International Journal of Integrated Engineering, 14(9), 133–139. doi:10.30880/ijie.2022.14.09.017.
[32] Saltan, M., Terzi, S., & Karahancer, S. (2019). Mechanical Behavior of Bitumen and Hot-Mix Asphalt Modified with Zinc Oxide Nanoparticle. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 31(3), 4018399. doi:10.1061/(asce)mt.1943-5533.0002621.
[33] Xu, X., Guo, H., Wang, X., Zhang, M., Wang, Z., & Yang, B. (2019). Physical properties and anti-aging characteristics of asphalt modified with nano-zinc oxide powder. Construction and Building Materials, 224, 732–742. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.07.097.
[34] Kleizienė, R., Paliukaitė, M., & Vaitkus, A. (2020). Effect of Nano SiO2, TiO2 and ZnO Modification to Rheological Properties of Neat and Polymer Modified Bitumen. Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium on Asphalt Pavements & Environment (APE). ISAP APE 2019. Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, vol 48. Springer, Cham, Switzerland. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-29779-4_32.
[35] Neto, V. F. de S., Lucena, L. C. de F. L., de Barros, A. G., Lucena, A. E. de F. L., & Filho, P. G. T. M. (2022). Rheological evaluation of asphalt binder modified with zinc oxide nanoparticles. Case Studies in Construction Materials, 17, 1224. doi:10.1016/j.cscm.2022.e01224.
[36] Kamboozia, N., Mousavi Rad, S., & Saed, S. A. (2022). Laboratory Investigation of the Effect of Nano-ZnO on the Fracture and Rutting Resistance of Porous Asphalt Mixture under the Aging Condition and Freeze–Thaw Cycle. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 34(5), 4022052. doi:10.1061/(asce)mt.1943-5533.0004187.
[37] Al-Mistarehi, B., Al-Omari, A., Taamneh, M., Imam, R., & Al-Deen Khafaja, D. (2023). The effects of adding nano clay and nano zinc oxide on asphalt cement rheology. Journal of King Saud University - Engineering Sciences, 35(4), 260–269. doi:10.1016/j.jksues.2021.03.010.
[38] Staub de Melo, J. V., Manfro, A. L., Barra, B. S., Dell’Antonio Cadorin, N., & Borba Broering, W. (2023). Evaluation of the Rheological Behavior and the Development of Performance Equations of Asphalt Composites Produced with Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide Nanoparticles. Nanomaterials, 13(2), 288. doi:10.3390/nano13020288.
[39] Zhu, Q., He, Z., Wang, J., & Wang, S. (2024). Morphology, rheology and physical properties investigations of multi-scale nano-zinc oxide modified asphalt binder. Alexandria Engineering Journal, 89, 31–38. doi:10.1016/j.aej.2023.12.031.
[40] Fu, Z., Tang, Y., Ma, F., Wang, Y., Shi, K., Dai, J., Hou, Y., & Li, J. (2022). Rheological properties of asphalt binder modified by nano-TiO2/ZnO and basalt fiber. Construction and Building Materials, 320, 126323. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.126323.
[41] Di, H., Zhang, H., Yang, E., Ding, H., Liu, H., Huang, B., & Qiu, Y. (2023). Usage of Nano-TiO2 or Nano-ZnO in Asphalt to Resist Aging by NMR Spectroscopy and Rheology Technology. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 35(1), 4022391. doi:10.1061/(asce)mt.1943-5533.0004570.
[42] Han, D., Hu, G., & Zhang, J. (2023). Study on Anti-Aging Performance Enhancement of Polymer Modified Asphalt with High Linear SBS Content. Polymers, 15(2), 256. doi:10.3390/polym15020256.
[43] Shafabakhsh, G. A., Sadeghnejad, M., Ahoor, B., & Taheri, E. (2020). Laboratory experiment on the effect of nano SiO2 and TiO2 on short and long-term aging behavior of bitumen. Construction and Building Materials, 237, 117640. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117640.
[44] Al-Hamdou, Y. M., & Albayati, A. H. (2025). The Influence of Nanomaterials on the Permanent Deformation of Hot Mix Asphalt. Engineering, Technology & Applied Science Research, 15(4), 25538–25544. doi:10.48084/etasr.12244.
[45] Al-Hamdou, A. M., & Albayati, A. H. (2025). Fatigue performance of asphalt binders modified with varying nanomaterials. Results in Engineering, 28. doi:10.1016/j.rineng.2025.107238.
[46] An, B., Shen, Y., Liu, J., Li, J., Jing, H., & Ren, S. (2025). Anti-Aging Effect of Nano-ZnO on Asphalt: Chemo-Rheological Behavior, Molecular Size Evolution of Polymers, and Nanoscale Parameters. Polymers, 17(20), 2774. doi:10.3390/polym17202774.
[47] Zhao, S., You, Q., Ling, J., Zhang, J., Chineche, E. B., & Wang, J. (2024). Variation of nano-ZnO/SBR modified asphalt features under photo-oxidative aging and optimization of the evaluation indexes based on rheological properties and chemical structure. Case Studies in Construction Materials, 21, 4101. doi:10.1016/j.cscm.2024.e04101.
[48] Hossain, Z., Zaman, M., Hawa, T., & Saha, M. C. (2015). Evaluation of Moisture Susceptibility of Nanoclay-Modified Asphalt Binders through the Surface Science Approach. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 27(10). doi:10.1061/(asce)mt.1943-5533.0001228.
- Authors retain all copyrights. It is noticeable that authors will not be forced to sign any copyright transfer agreements.
- This work (including HTML and PDF Files) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
