Investigation of C3 S hydration mechanism by transmission electron microscope (TEM) with integrated Super-XTM EDS system.

Abstract

Tricalciumsilicate (C3 S, Alite) is the major component of the Portland cement clinker. Hydration of Alite is decisive in influencing the properties of the resulting material. This is due to its high content in cement. The mechanism of the hydration of C3 S is very complicated and not yet fully understood. There are different models describing the hydration of C3 S in various ways. In this work for a better understanding of hydration mechanism, the hydrated C3 S was investigated by using the transmission electron microscope (TEM) and for the first time, the samples for the investigations were prepared by using of focused ion beam from sintered pellets of C3 S. Also, an FEI Talos F200x with an integrated Super-X EDS system was used for the investigations. FEI Talos F200X combines outstanding high-resolution S/TEM and TEM imaging with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy signal detection, and 3D chemical characterization with compositional mapping. TEM is a very powerful tool for material science. A high energy beam of electrons passes through a very thin sample, and the interactions between the electrons and the atoms can be used to observe the structure of the material and other features in the structure. TEM can be used to study the growth of layers and their composition. TEM produces high-resolution, two-dimensional images and will be used for a wide range of educational, science and industry applications. Chemical analysis can also be performed. The purpose of these investigations was to get the information about the composition of the C-S-H phases and some details of the nanostructure of the C-S-H phases.