Intrinsic differences in atomic ordering of calcium (alumino)silicate hydrates in conventional and alkali-activated cements

Claire E. White; Luke L. Daemen; Monika Hartl; Katharine Page

doi:10.1016/j.cemconres.2014.08.006

Intrinsic differences in atomic ordering of calcium (alumino)silicate hydrates in conventional and alkali-activated cements

Claire E. White, Luke L. Daemen, Monika Hartl, Katharine Page

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

73 Scopus citations

Abstract

The atomic structures of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) and calcium (-sodium) aluminosilicate hydrate (C-(N)-A-S-H) gels, and their presence in conventional and blended cement systems, have been the topic of significant debate over recent decades. Previous investigations have revealed that synthetic C-S-H gel is nanocrystalline and due to the chemical similarities between ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based systems and low-CO₂ alkali-activated slags, researchers have inferred that the atomic ordering in alkali-activated slag is the same as in OPC-slag cements. Here, X-ray total scattering is used to determine the local bonding environment and nanostructure of C(-A)-S-H gels present in hydrated tricalcium silicate (C₃S), blended C₃S-slag and alkali-activated slag, revealing the large intrinsic differences in the extent of nanoscale ordering between C-S-H derived from C₃S and alkali-activated slag systems, which may have a significant influence on thermodynamic stability, and material properties at higher length scales, including long term durability of alkali-activated cements.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	66-73
Number of pages	8
Journal	Cement and Concrete Research
Volume	67
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2014.08.006
State	Published - Jan 2015
Externally published	Yes

Funding

The participation of all authors in this work was supported by Los Alamos National Laboratory, which is operated by Los Alamos National Security LLC under DOE Contract DE-AC52-06NA25396 . Furthermore, CEW gratefully acknowledges the support of the U.S. Department of Energy through the LANL/LDRD Program. The 11-ID-B beam line is located at the Advanced Photon Source, an Office of Science User Facility operated for the U.S. DOE Office of Science by Argonne National Laboratory, under U.S. DOE Contract No. DE-AC02-06CH11357. The authors would like to acknowledge the support and assistance of the beam line staff on 11-ID-B, and access to the beam line via a Partner User Proposal between 11-ID-B and the neutron PDF instrument NOMAD at SNS, ORNL.

Keywords

Alkali-activated cement
Amorphous material (B)
Calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) (B)
Portland cement (D)
X-ray diffraction (B)

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10.1016/j.cemconres.2014.08.006

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title = "Intrinsic differences in atomic ordering of calcium (alumino)silicate hydrates in conventional and alkali-activated cements",

abstract = "The atomic structures of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) and calcium (-sodium) aluminosilicate hydrate (C-(N)-A-S-H) gels, and their presence in conventional and blended cement systems, have been the topic of significant debate over recent decades. Previous investigations have revealed that synthetic C-S-H gel is nanocrystalline and due to the chemical similarities between ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based systems and low-CO2 alkali-activated slags, researchers have inferred that the atomic ordering in alkali-activated slag is the same as in OPC-slag cements. Here, X-ray total scattering is used to determine the local bonding environment and nanostructure of C(-A)-S-H gels present in hydrated tricalcium silicate (C3S), blended C3S-slag and alkali-activated slag, revealing the large intrinsic differences in the extent of nanoscale ordering between C-S-H derived from C3S and alkali-activated slag systems, which may have a significant influence on thermodynamic stability, and material properties at higher length scales, including long term durability of alkali-activated cements.",

keywords = "Alkali-activated cement, Amorphous material (B), Calcium-silicate-hydrate (C-S-H) (B), Portland cement (D), X-ray diffraction (B)",

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doi = "10.1016/j.cemconres.2014.08.006",

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AU - White, Claire E.

AU - Daemen, Luke L.

AU - Hartl, Monika

AU - Page, Katharine

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N2 - The atomic structures of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) and calcium (-sodium) aluminosilicate hydrate (C-(N)-A-S-H) gels, and their presence in conventional and blended cement systems, have been the topic of significant debate over recent decades. Previous investigations have revealed that synthetic C-S-H gel is nanocrystalline and due to the chemical similarities between ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based systems and low-CO2 alkali-activated slags, researchers have inferred that the atomic ordering in alkali-activated slag is the same as in OPC-slag cements. Here, X-ray total scattering is used to determine the local bonding environment and nanostructure of C(-A)-S-H gels present in hydrated tricalcium silicate (C3S), blended C3S-slag and alkali-activated slag, revealing the large intrinsic differences in the extent of nanoscale ordering between C-S-H derived from C3S and alkali-activated slag systems, which may have a significant influence on thermodynamic stability, and material properties at higher length scales, including long term durability of alkali-activated cements.

AB - The atomic structures of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) and calcium (-sodium) aluminosilicate hydrate (C-(N)-A-S-H) gels, and their presence in conventional and blended cement systems, have been the topic of significant debate over recent decades. Previous investigations have revealed that synthetic C-S-H gel is nanocrystalline and due to the chemical similarities between ordinary Portland cement (OPC)-based systems and low-CO2 alkali-activated slags, researchers have inferred that the atomic ordering in alkali-activated slag is the same as in OPC-slag cements. Here, X-ray total scattering is used to determine the local bonding environment and nanostructure of C(-A)-S-H gels present in hydrated tricalcium silicate (C3S), blended C3S-slag and alkali-activated slag, revealing the large intrinsic differences in the extent of nanoscale ordering between C-S-H derived from C3S and alkali-activated slag systems, which may have a significant influence on thermodynamic stability, and material properties at higher length scales, including long term durability of alkali-activated cements.

KW - Alkali-activated cement

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KW - Portland cement (D)

KW - X-ray diffraction (B)

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JO - Cement and Concrete Research

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ER -

Intrinsic differences in atomic ordering of calcium (alumino)silicate hydrates in conventional and alkali-activated cements

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