Graphene oxide reinforced cement concrete – a study on mechanical, durability and microstructure characteristics

Abstract

Graphene oxide (GO) is a promising nanomaterial that can be employed as a reinforcement in cementitious composites because of the oxygen functionalities attached to the surface of GO and its physical characteristics. The influence of GO on concrete performance should be investigated further. The workability, mechanical, durability, and microstructure characteristics of cement concrete with the addition of GO at 0.025%, 0.05%, 0.075%, and 0.10% were comprehensively investigated in this research. Compressive, split tensile, and flexural strengths of the concrete mixes were evaluated after 7 and 28 days of curing. The experimental findings demonstrated that introducing a small quantity of GO to cement concrete remarkably improved the strength properties while decreasing the workability. The addition of GO at 0.1% exhibited highest improvement of compressive, split tensile, and flexural strengths by 38.46%, 14.87%, and 12.07% at 28 days compared to control concrete, respectively. The water absorption and sorptivity of concrete mixes with GO addition were measured and found to be significantly superior than the control concrete, demonstrating that GO significantly reduces the volume of pore space. Scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive X-ray microanalysis, X-ray diffraction analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis were employed to study the microstructure of concrete mixes. The findings showed that adding GO to concrete increases hydration and helps in the production of a homogeneous and densified microstructure. According to the findings of this study, GO is capable of serving as nano-reinforcement in cement concrete to improve its performance.