Aluminum-induced dreierketten chain cross-links increase the mechanical properties of nanocrystalline calcium aluminosilicate hydrate.
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The incorporation of Al and increased curing temperature promotes the crystallization and cross-linking of calcium (alumino)silicate hydrate (C-(A-)S-H), which is the primary binding phase in most contemporary concrete materials. However, the influence of Al-induced structural changes on the mechanical properties at atomistic scale is not well understood. Herein, synchrotron radiation-based high-pressure X-ray diffraction is used to quantify the influence of dreierketten chain cross-linking on the anisotropic mechanical behavior of C-(A-)S-H. We show that the ab-planar stiffness is independent of dreierketten chain defects, e.g. vacancies in bridging tetrahedra sites and Al for Si substitution. The c-axis of non-cross-linked C-(A-)S-H is more deformable due to the softer interlayer opening but stiffens with decreased spacing and/or increased zeolitic water and Ca2+ of the interlayer. Dreierketten chain cross-links act as 'columns' to resist compression, thus increasing the bulk modulus of C-(A-)S-H. We provide the first experimental evidence on the influence of the Al-induced atomistic configurational change on the mechanical properties of C-(A-)S-H. Our work advances the fundamental knowledge of C-(A-)S-H on the lowest level of its hierarchical structure, and thus can impact the way that innovative C-(A-)S-H-based cementitious materials are developed using a 'bottom-up' approach.
Date Issued
2017-03-10
Date Acceptance
2017-01-31
Citation
Scientific reports, 2017, 7, pp.44032-44032
ISSN
2045-2322
Publisher
Springer Nature
Start Page
44032
End Page
44032
Journal / Book Title
Scientific reports
Volume
7
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2017. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images
or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license,
unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license,
users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this
license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license,
unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license,
users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this
license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
License URL
Identifier
https://www.nature.com/articles/srep44032
Subjects
Science & Technology
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Science & Technology - Other Topics
C-S-H
X-RAY-DIFFRACTION
CRYSTAL-STRUCTURE
AL-TOBERMORITE
REAL STRUCTURE
OD CHARACTER
ANGSTROM
NEUTRON
CEMENT
MODEL
0601 Biochemistry and Cell Biology
0299 Other Physical Sciences
Publication Status
Published
Date Publish Online
2017-03-10