Abstract
The usage of nanoscale calcium silicate hydrate (nano C-S-H) proved to have an excellent promotion effect on the early performance of concrete as nano C-S-H with ultra-fine particle size can act as seeding for cement hydration. Therefore, it is of importance to tune the particle size during the synthesis process of nano C-S-H. In this paper, the influence of several variables of the particle size distribution (PSD) of nano C-S-H synthesized by chemical co-precipitation method with the aid of polycarboxylate (PCE) was studied by orthogonal experimental design. In addition, the composition, microstructure, and morphology of the C-S-H/PCE nanocomposites were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Raman spectrum. The results showed that the concentration of reactants had a significant impact on the PSD of C-S-H/PCE nanocomposites, followed by the dosage of dispersant. Ultrasonic treatment was effective in breaking the C-S-H/PCE aggregates with unstable agglomeration structures. The change in synthetic variables had a negligible effect on the composition of the C-S-H/PCE nanocomposites but had a significant influence on the crystallinity and morphology of the composites.
Highlights
This paper aims at synthesizing C-S-H/PCE nanocomposites by using the co-precipitation method, considering the feeding sequence and flow rate of reactants, the concentration of reactant solution, and the dosage of PCE as the primary synthetic variables, which could have a potential impact on the particle size of C-S-H
Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and nitric acid (HNO3 ) purchased from the same supplier were used to adjust the pH during the synthesis
Ltd. was used as a dispersant and template during the synthesis of C-S-H
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. With the rapid development of nanotechnology, which involves manipulating materials at scales around 100 nm or below, there has been a growing interest in the use of nanomaterials in construction materials, especially concrete [1,2,3,4,5], in recent years. A reduction in the particle size to the nanoscale has a pronounced impact on material performance
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