Enhancing Functional Properties and Mold Resistance of Gypsum Plasters with Caffeine

Caffeine is a proven bioactive substance against fungi for internal use, without any observed negative effects on properties of wood materials. However, its addition to other building materials for internal use has not yet been tested. For this reason, the effects of caffeine’s addition on selected...

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Main Authors: Klára Kobetičová, Jitka Krejsová, Martin Keppert, Vojtěch Pommer, Ivana Burianová, Martin Böhm, Robert Černý
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-10-01
Series:Buildings
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/11/3494
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author Klára Kobetičová
Jitka Krejsová
Martin Keppert
Vojtěch Pommer
Ivana Burianová
Martin Böhm
Robert Černý
author_facet Klára Kobetičová
Jitka Krejsová
Martin Keppert
Vojtěch Pommer
Ivana Burianová
Martin Böhm
Robert Černý
author_sort Klára Kobetičová
collection DOAJ
description Caffeine is a proven bioactive substance against fungi for internal use, without any observed negative effects on properties of wood materials. However, its addition to other building materials for internal use has not yet been tested. For this reason, the effects of caffeine’s addition on selected properties of gypsum plasters were studied. Two experimental approaches were applied in the present study: (A) using an aqueous caffeine solution (20 g/L) for the preparation of gypsum plaster; and (B) immersing the gypsum plaster in the same caffeine concentration. The results showed a significant increase in the compressive strength of the plaster after 7 days of curing in laboratory conditions (variant A—46%, variant B—16%). The application of caffeine led to a substantial improvement in the water resistance of gypsum. Gypsum plasters were also exposed to a mixture of air molds. The plasters directly mixed with caffeine were about 72% less attacked by molds than the control, while immersed samples showed only a 20% reduction in mold coverage. The main conclusions of the study are that caffeine is a suitable additive for the improvement of gypsum’s compressive strength, and its addition leads to a higher resistance of gypsum against humidity and mold attacks.
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spelling doaj-art-43808dd958404cdb9282e499b2e0e40b2025-08-20T02:28:11ZengMDPI AGBuildings2075-53092024-10-011411349410.3390/buildings14113494Enhancing Functional Properties and Mold Resistance of Gypsum Plasters with CaffeineKlára Kobetičová0Jitka Krejsová1Martin Keppert2Vojtěch Pommer3Ivana Burianová4Martin Böhm5Robert Černý6Department of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thákurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thákurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thákurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thákurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thákurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thákurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicDepartment of Materials Engineering and Chemistry, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Thákurova 7, 166 29 Prague, Czech RepublicCaffeine is a proven bioactive substance against fungi for internal use, without any observed negative effects on properties of wood materials. However, its addition to other building materials for internal use has not yet been tested. For this reason, the effects of caffeine’s addition on selected properties of gypsum plasters were studied. Two experimental approaches were applied in the present study: (A) using an aqueous caffeine solution (20 g/L) for the preparation of gypsum plaster; and (B) immersing the gypsum plaster in the same caffeine concentration. The results showed a significant increase in the compressive strength of the plaster after 7 days of curing in laboratory conditions (variant A—46%, variant B—16%). The application of caffeine led to a substantial improvement in the water resistance of gypsum. Gypsum plasters were also exposed to a mixture of air molds. The plasters directly mixed with caffeine were about 72% less attacked by molds than the control, while immersed samples showed only a 20% reduction in mold coverage. The main conclusions of the study are that caffeine is a suitable additive for the improvement of gypsum’s compressive strength, and its addition leads to a higher resistance of gypsum against humidity and mold attacks.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/11/3494caffeinegypsumstrengthmoldsplasters
spellingShingle Klára Kobetičová
Jitka Krejsová
Martin Keppert
Vojtěch Pommer
Ivana Burianová
Martin Böhm
Robert Černý
Enhancing Functional Properties and Mold Resistance of Gypsum Plasters with Caffeine
Buildings
caffeine
gypsum
strength
molds
plasters
title Enhancing Functional Properties and Mold Resistance of Gypsum Plasters with Caffeine
title_full Enhancing Functional Properties and Mold Resistance of Gypsum Plasters with Caffeine
title_fullStr Enhancing Functional Properties and Mold Resistance of Gypsum Plasters with Caffeine
title_full_unstemmed Enhancing Functional Properties and Mold Resistance of Gypsum Plasters with Caffeine
title_short Enhancing Functional Properties and Mold Resistance of Gypsum Plasters with Caffeine
title_sort enhancing functional properties and mold resistance of gypsum plasters with caffeine
topic caffeine
gypsum
strength
molds
plasters
url https://www.mdpi.com/2075-5309/14/11/3494
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