Pengkun Hou,Xinming Wang,Piqi Zhao,Kejin Wang,Shiho Kawashima,Qinfei Li,Ning Xie,Xin Cheng,Surendra P. Shah
In this paper, C 3 A-gypsum and C 3 A-C 3 S-gypsum model cement systems with and without nanosilica were studied. The effects of nanosilica on the early stage cement hydration, particularly C 3 A hydration, were assessed through the heat of hydration (isothermal calorimetry), phase assemblage (quantitative X-ray diffraction), zeta potential, ion concentration measurements, and morphology (scanning electron microscopy) examinations. The results indicate that while promoting C 3 S hydration, nanosilica retarded C 3 A hydration in both the systems studied. The retardation was caused by the adsorption and coverage of nanosilica on C 3 A surfaces through the electrostatic interaction, thus decreasing the C 3 A dissolution rate and hindering the precipitation of hydration products. Consequently, the reduced gypsum consumption rate and the seeding effect of nanosilica further promoted C 3 S hydration. These findings suggest that nanosilica and other silica-based nanoparticles can physicochemically influence hydration of cement-based materials, and a better understanding of these influencing mechanisms can help optimize performances of nanoparticle-modified cement-based materials.
C3S pastes containing 0%, 5%, 10%, and 15% nano-SiO2 mixed with de-ionized water and alkali solutions were prepared. When C3S was completely hydrated, the pastes were ground into powders with a particle size less than 80 μm. Adsorption and desorption characteristics of alkali ions adsorbed by C 3 S-nano SiO 2 pastes mixed with de-ionized water immersed in alkali solutions and those in C 3 S-nano SiO 2 pastes mixed with alkali solutions, were investigated. Meawhile, the adsorption mechanisms of alkali ions were discussed. Results showed that the contents of alkali ions adsorbed by C 3 S-nano SiO 2 pastes mixed with de-ionized water increased with increasing substitution levels of nano-SiO 2 and/or the initial alkali concentrations. In C 3 S-nano SiO 2 pastes mixed with de-ionized water, each paste was characterized by having a fixed alkali-adsorption capacity that was essentially independent of alkali concentration. No obvious difference between the adsorption capacity of a given paste for K + and Na + was observed. Adsorption of alkali ions in the pastes is considered to be caused by surface force which is related to the BET specific surface area of the paste, and charge compensation of C-S-H gel, mainly by electrostatic interactions. In C 3 S-nano SiO 2 pastes mixed with alkali solutions, alkali ions may enter the structure of C-S-H gel to replace a part of Ca 2+ in the interlayer. This assumption is supported by the structural characterization of C-S-H gel using 29 Si MAS NMR.