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Title: Aluminum-induced dreierketten chain cross-links increase the mechanical properties of nanocrystalline calcium aluminosilicate hydrate

Journal Article · · Scientific Reports
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/srep44032· OSTI ID:1408423
 [1];  [2];  [1];  [3];  [3];  [4];  [5]
  1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering
  2. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States). School of Forestry & Environmental Studies
  3. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering
  4. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source
  5. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States). Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Advanced Light Source
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The incorporation of Al and increased curing temperature promotes the crystallization and cross-linking of calcium (alumino)silicate hydrate (C-(A-)S-H), which is the primary binding phase in most contemporary concrete materials. However, the influence of Al-induced structural changes on the mechanical properties at atomistic scale is not well understood. Herein, synchrotron radiation-based high-pressure X-ray diffraction is used to quantify the influence of dreierketten chain cross-linking on the anisotropic mechanical behavior of C-(A-)S-H. We show that the ab-planar stiffness is independent of dreierketten chain defects, e.g. vacancies in bridging tetrahedra sites and Al for Si substitution. The c-axis of non-cross-linked C-(A-)S-H is more deformable due to the softer interlayer opening but stiffens with decreased spacing and/or increased zeolitic water and Ca2+ of the interlayer. Dreierketten chain cross-links act as ‘columns’ to resist compression, thus increasing the bulk modulus of C-(A-)S-H. We provide the first experimental evidence on the influence of the Al-induced atomistic configurational change on the mechanical properties of C-(A-)S-H. Our work advances the fundamental knowledge of C-(A-)S-H on the lowest level of its hierarchical structure, and thus can impact the way that innovative C-(A-)S-H-based cementitious materials are developed using a ‘bottom-up’ approach.

Research Organization:
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF); National Research Foundation (Singapore); Chinese Scholarship Council
Grant/Contract Number:
AC02-05CH11231; DMR-1410557; 201206090127
OSTI ID:
1408423
Journal Information:
Scientific Reports, Vol. 7; ISSN 2045-2322
Publisher:
Nature Publishing GroupCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 116 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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  • Grangeon, Sylvain; Claret, Francis; Linard, Yannick
  • Acta Crystallographica Section B Structural Science Crystal Engineering and Materials, Vol. 69, Issue 5, p. 465-473 https://doi.org/10.1107/S2052519213021155
journal September 2013
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Cited By (6)

The synthesis of 1.13 nm tobermorite from carbonated opoka journal June 2018
Densification of the interlayer spacing governs the nanomechanical properties of calcium-silicate-hydrate journal September 2017
Understanding the deformation mechanism and mechanical characteristics of cementitious mineral analogues from first principles and reactive force field molecular dynamics journal January 2018
Effects of CO 2 and temperature on the structure and chemistry of C–(A–)S–H investigated by Raman spectroscopy journal January 2017
Quantitative disentanglement of nanocrystalline phases in cement pastes by synchrotron ptychographic X-ray tomography journal April 2019
Quantitative disentanglement of nanocrystalline phases in cement pastes by synchrotron ptychographic X-ray tomography text January 2019

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Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
civil engineering
mechanical properties
mineralogy