Initial hydration of tricalcium silicate as studied by secondary neutrals mass spectrometry: I. Sample preparation and calibration

Abstract

Secondary neutrals mass spectrometry (SNMS) is a method that enables to establish the chemical composition (stoichiometry) at the surface of solids with an extremely low information depth and thus without interference from deeper regions of the material. The method may be also applied for analyzing the composition of the material as a function of distance from the surface. This is done by gradual material removal from the analyzed surface by sputtering. For these reasons, SNMS is particularly suitable for the study of the hydration of tricalcium silicate (C 3S) in its initial stage. In this first part of the paper, the principle of the method, the sample preparation, and the calibrations for the measurements to be performed are described.