Abstract
The development of the concrete industry is always accompanied by some environmental issues such as global warming and energy consumption. Under this circumstance, the application of nanocellulose in cementitious materials is attracting more and more attention in recent years not only because of its renewability and sustainability but also because of its unique properties. To trace the research progress and provide some guidance for future research, the application of nanocellulose to cementitious materials is reviewed. Specifically, the effects of cellulose nanocrystal (CNC), cellulose nanofibril (CNF), bacterial cellulose (BC), and cellulose filament (CF) on the physical and fresh properties, hydration, mechanical properties, microstructure, rheology, shrinkage, and durability of cementitious materials are summarized. It can be seen that the type, dosage, and dispersion of nanocellulose, and even the cementitious matrix type can lead to different results. Moreover, in this review, some unexplored topics are highlighted and remain to be further studied. Lastly, the major challenge of nanocellulose dispersion, related to the effectiveness of nanocellulose in cementitious materials, is examined in detail.
Highlights
Nanomaterials, such as nano-silica [1,2], nano-TiO2 [3,4], and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [5,6], have been widely used in cementitious materials
The delaying could be because the hydroxyl group and the carboxyl group of cellulose nanofibril (CNF) reacted with Ca2+ in cement pastes forming some hydrophilic complexes to adhere to cement particles’ surface and slowed down the formation rate of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) and calcium hydroxide (CH)
Haddad Kolour et al suggested that incorporating CNFs with dosages from 0.015% to 0.15% by weight of cement into cement pastes could improve the 3-day degree of hydration by up to 8%, which could be attributed to the short circuit diffusion and even the internal curing effect [14]
Summary
Nanomaterials, such as nano-silica [1,2], nano-TiO2 [3,4], and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) [5,6], have been widely used in cementitious materials. Nanocelluloses are hydrophilic, with large amounts of hydroxyl groups on their surface, and can absorb some water while mixing with cementitious materials. Even they can be chemically functionalized to meet specific needs by modifying the hydroxyl groups and tuning the degree of hydrophilicity [25]. Nanocellulose can be used to improve the mechanical properties of cementitious materials if a proper dosage is used [15,20,26,27]. To help researchers learn about the application of nanocellulose in cementitious materials, there is a need to summarize the existing research. It is believed that the comprehensive summary of the application of nanocellulose in cementitious materials can lay a foundation and give insights for future investigations
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