Assessing the potential of ToF-SIMS as a complementary approach to investigate cement-based materials — Applications related to alkali–silica reaction

Journal Article · Sun Feb 15 04:00:00 EST 2015 · Cement and Concrete Research

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/J.CEMCONRES.2014.11.008· OSTI ID:22475488

Bernard, Laetitia ^[1]; Leemann, Andreas ^[2]

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1. Laboratory for Nanoscale Materials Science, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Science and Technology, Ueberlandstr. 129, 8600 Duebendorf (Switzerland)
2. Laboratory for Concrete/Construction Chemistry, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Material Science and Technology, Ueberlandstr. 129, 8600 Duebendorf (Switzerland)

In this study, the potential of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) for the application in cement-based materials is assessed in combination and comparison with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray (EDX). Mortar, concrete and samples from model systems providing products formed by the alkali–silica reaction (ASR) were studied. ToF-SIMS provides qualitative data on alkalis in cases where EDX reaches its limits in regard to detectable concentration, lateral resolution and atomic number of the elements. Due to its high in-depth resolution of a few atomic monolayers, thin layers of reaction products can be detected on the surfaces and chemically analyzed with ToF-SIMS. Additionally, it delivers information on the molecular conformation within the ASR product, its hydrogen content and its isotope ratios, information not provided by EDX. Provided the samples are carefully prepared, ToF-SIMS opens up new possibilities in the analysis of cement-based materials.

• OSTI ID: 22475488
• Journal Information: Cement and Concrete Research, Journal Name: Cement and Concrete Research Vol. 68; ISSN 0008-8846; ISSN CCNRAI
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
CEMENTS
COMPARATIVE EVALUATIONS
CONCENTRATION RATIO
CONCRETES
ELECTRONS
HYDROGEN
ION MICROPROBE ANALYSIS
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MICROSTRUCTURE
MORTARS
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
SILICA
SURFACES
THIN FILMS
TIME-OF-FLIGHT METHOD
X-RAY SPECTROSCOPY