Pore structure of cementitious material enhanced by graphitic nanomaterial: a critical review

Abstract

Carbon nano tubes (CNT) has been introduced as an efficient nanomaterial in order to improve the mechanical and durability properties of concrete. The effect of CNT on the microstructures of cementitious materials has been widely reported. This paper combines a critical review on the effect of CNT on the pore and microstructure of cement composite with a discussion on the porosity measurement of pastes containing CNT using mercury intrusion porosimetry techniques (MIP). It was found that, surface treatment by H₂SO₄ and HNO₃ solution forms carboxyl acid groups on CNTs’ surfaces that lead to the improvement of reinforcement. In this scope, this review paper involves analyzing the effect of CNT on the microstructure and the pore structure of cementitious materials. The existing methods of measuring the porosity of cementitious material are reviewed, in particular, the contact angle measurement is discussed in detail in which the most effective parameters and possible errors of calculation is presented.

Keywords

carbon nano tubes / microstructure / porosity / mercury intrusion porosimetry / cement composite

References

[1] Olivier J, Janssens-Maenhout G, Muntean M, Peters J. Trends in global CO₂ emissions: 2015 Report. PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, 2015, report number: JRC 98184

[2] Marceau M, Nisbet M A, Van Geem M G. Life cycle inventory of portland cement manufacture. Portland Cement Association Skokie, 2006, PCA R&D Serial No. 2095b

[3] Ramezanianpour A A, Ghahari S A, Esmaeili M. Effect of combined carbonation and chloride ion ingress by an accelerated test method on microscopic and mechanical properties of concrete. Construction & Building Materials, 2014, 58: 138–146

[4] Heikal M, Abd El Aleem S, Morsi W M. Durability of composite cements containing granulated blast-furnace slag and silica nano-particles. Indian Journal of Engineering and Materials Sciences, 2016, 23(1): 88–100

[5] Abd El. Aziz M, Abd El. Aleem S, Heikal M, El. Didamony H. Hydration and durability of sulphate-resisting and slag cement blends in Caron’s Lake water. Cement and Concrete Research, 2005, 35(8): 1592–1600

[6] Ghahari S A, Ramezanianpour A M, Ramezanianpour A A, Esmaeili M. An accelerated test method of simultaneous carbonation and chloride ion ingress: durability of silica fume concrete in severe environments. Advances in Materials Science and Engineering, 2016, 2016: 1650979

[7] Assi L, Ghahari S A, Deaver E E, Leaphart D, Ziehl P. Improvement of the early and final compressive strength of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete at ambient conditions. Construction & Building Materials, 2016, 123: 806–813

[8] Ahlborn T. Sustainability for the concrete bridge engineering community. ASPIRE, 2008, 15–19

[9] Ramezanianpour A A, Ghahari S A, Khazaie A. Feasibility Study on Production and Sustainability of Poly Propylene Fiber Reinforced Concrete Ties Based on a Value Engineering Survey. In: The 3rd International Conference on Sustainable Construction Materials and Technologies (SCMT3). 2013. Coventry University, University of Wisconsin

[10] Ramezanianpour A M, Esmaeili K, Ghahari S A, Ramezanianpour A A. Influence of initial steam curing and different types of mineral additives on mechanical and durability properties of self-compacting concrete. Construction & Building Materials, 2014, 73: 187–194

[11] Mackechnie J R, Alexander M G. Using durability to enhance concrete sustainability. Journal of Green building, 2009, 4(3): 52–60

[12] Abd El-aleem Mohamed S, Abd El-rahman Ragab Khalil. Physico-mechanical properties and microstructure of blended cement incorporating nano-silica. International Journal of Engineering Research and Technology, 2014, 3(7): 339–358

[13] Abd El. Aleem S, Heikal M, Morsi W M. Hydration characteristic, thermal expansion and microstructure of cement containing nano-silica. Construction & Building Materials, 2014, 59(0): 151–160

[14] Heikal M, Abd El-Aleem S, Morsi W M. Characteristics of blended cements containing nano-silica. HBRC Journal, 2013, 9(3): 243–255

[15] Ghafari E, Costa H, Júlio E, Portugal A, Durães L. The effect of nanosilica addition on flowability, strength and transport properties of ultra high performance concrete. Materials & Design, 2014, 59: 1–9

[16] Ghafari E, Costa H, Júlio E. Critical review on eco-efficient ultra high performance concrete enhanced with nano-materials. Construction & Building Materials, 2015, 101(Part 1): 201–208

[17] Lu L, Ouyang D, Xu W. Mechanical properties and durability of ultra high strength concrete incorporating multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Materials (Basel), 2016, 9(6): 419

[18] Tamimi A, Hassan N M, Fattah K, Talachi A. Performance of cementitious materials produced by incorporating surface treated multiwall carbon nanotubes and silica fume. Construction & Building Materials, 2016, 114: 934–945

[19] Eftekhari M, Mohammadi S. Multiscale dynamic fracture behavior of the carbon nanotube reinforced concrete under impact loading. International Journal of Impact Engineering, 2016, 87: 55–64

[20] Nochaiya T, Chaipanich A. Behavior of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on the porosity and microstructure of cement-based materials. Applied Surface Science, 2011, 257(6): 1941–1945

[21] Konsta-Gdoutos M S, Metaxa Z S, Shah S P. Multi-scale mechanical and fracture characteristics and early-age strain capacity of high performance carbon nanotube/cement nanocomposites. Cement and Concrete Composites, 2010, 32(2): 110–115

[22] Metaxa Z S, Konsta-Gdoutos M S, Shah S P. Carbon nanotubes reinforced concrete. In: Konstantin S, Taha M E, eds. Nanotechnology of Concerete: the Next Big Thing is Small. ACI Special Publication, 2009, 267: 11–20

[23] Day R L, Marsh B K. Measurement of porosity in blended cement pastes. Cement and Concrete Research, 1988, 18(1): 63–73

[24] Vodák F, Trtík K, Kapičková O, Hošková Š, Demo P. The effect of temperature on strength–porosity relationship for concrete. Construction & Building Materials, 2004, 18(7): 529–534

[25] Auskern A, Horn W. Capillary porosity in hardened cement paste. Journal of Testing and Evaluation, 1973, 1(1): 74–79

[26] Pantazopoulou S, Mills R. Microstructural aspects of the mechanical response of plain concrete. ACI Materials Journal, 1995, 92(6): 605–616

[27] ASTM-D4404. Standard Test Method for Determination of Pore Volume and Pore Volume Distribution of Soil and Rock by Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry. ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, 2007, 1–7

[28] Winslow D N, Cohen M D, Bentz D P, Snyder K A, Garboczi E J. Percolation and pore structure in mortars and concrete. Cement and Concrete Research, 1994, 24(1): 25–37

[29] Cook D J, Cao H T. An Investigation of the Pore Structure in Fly Ash/OPC Blends, Pore Structure and Construction Properties. Proceedings of the First International Congress, RILEM/AFREM, 1987, 1: 69–76

[30] Ouellet S, Bussière B, Aubertin M, Benzaazoua M. Microstructural evolution of cemented paste backfill: mercury intrusion porosimetry test results. Cement and Concrete Research, 2007, 37(12): 1654–1665

[31] Li G Y, Wang P M, Zhao X. Mechanical behavior and microstructure of cement composites incorporating surface-treated multi-walled carbon nanotubes. Carbon, 2005, 43(6): 1239–1245

[32] Holly J, Hampton D, Thomas M D. Modelling relationships between permeability and cement paste pore microstructures. Cement and Concrete Research, 1993, 23(6): 1317–1330

[33] El-Dieb A, Hooton R. Evaluation of the Katz-Thompson model for estimating the water permeability of cement-based materials from mercury intrusion porosimetry data. Cement and Concrete Research, 1994, 24(3): 443–455

[34] Mehta P K, Manmohan D. Pore Size Distribution and Permeability of Hardened Cement Pastes. The 7th International Congress on the Chemistry of Cement, 1980, II: 1–5

[35] Moon H Y, Kim H S, Choi D S. Relationship between average pore diameter and chloride diffusivity in various concretes. Construction & Building Materials, 2006, 20(9): 725–732

[36] Moro F, Böhni H. Ink-bottle effect in mercury intrusion porosimetry of cement-based materials. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2002, 246(1): 135–149

[37] Diamond S. Mercury porosimetry: an inappropriate method for the measurement of pore size distributions in cement-based materials. Cement and Concrete Research, 2000, 30(10): 1517–1525

[38] Gallé C. Effect of drying on cement-based materials pore structure as identified by mercury intrusion porosimetry: a comparative study between oven-, vacuum-, and freeze-drying. Cement and Concrete Research, 2001, 31(10): 1467–1477

[39] Mehta P K, Monteiro P J. Concrete: Microstructure, Properties, and Materials (3rd ed). 2006. McGraw-Hill New York

[40] Ye G. Percolation of capillary pores in hardening cement pastes. Cement and Concrete Research, 2005, 35(1): 167–176

[41] Cook R A, Hover K C. Mercury porosimetry of hardened cement pastes. Cement and Concrete Research, 1999, 29(6): 933–943

[42] Chen X, Wu S. Influence of water-to-cement ratio and curing period on pore structure of cement mortar. Construction & Building Materials, 2013, 38: 804–812

[43] Ma Y, Hu J, Ye G. The pore structure and permeability of alkali activated fly ash. Fuel, 2013, 104: 771–780

[44] Zeng Q, Li K, Fen-chong T, Dangla P. Pore structure characterization of cement pastes blended with high-volume fly-ash. Cement and Concrete Research, 2012, 42(1): 194–204

[45] Zhou J, Ye G, van Breugel K. Characterization of pore structure in cement-based materials using pressurization–depressurization cycling mercury intrusion porosimetry (PDC-MIP). Cement and Concrete Research, 2010, 40(7): 1120–1128

[46] Felipe C, Cordero S, Kornhauser I, Zgrablich G, López R, Rojas F. Domain complexion diagrams related to mercury intrusion-extrusion in monte carlo-simulated porous networks. Particle & Particle Systems Characterization, 2006, 23(1): 48–60

[47] Porcheron F, Monson P A, Thommes M. Modeling mercury porosimetry using statistical mechanics. Langmuir, 2004, 20(15): 6482–6489

[48] Porcheron F, Thommes M, Ahmad R, Monson P A. Mercury porosimetry in mesoporous glasses: a comparison of experiments with results from a molecular model. Langmuir, 2007, 23(6): 3372–3380

[49] Moura M J, Ferreira P J, Figueiredo M M. Mercury intrusion porosimetry in pulp and paper technology. Powder Technology, 2005, 160(2): 61–66

[50] Bhuiyan I, Mouzon J, Forsmo S P E, Hedlund J. Quantitative image analysis of bubble cavities in iron ore green pellets. Powder Technology, 2011, 214(3): 306–312

[51] Wild S. A discussion of the paper “Mercury porosimetry—an inappropriate method for the measurement of pore size distributions in cement-based materials” by S. Diamond. Cement and Concrete Research, 2001, 31(11): 1653–1654

[52] Gallé C. Reply to the discussion by S. Diamond of the paper “Effect of drying on cement-based materials pore structure as identified by mercury intrusion porosimetry: a comparative study between oven-, vacuum-and freeze-drying”. Cement and Concrete Research, 2003, 33(1): 171–172

[53] Wang Y.Microstructural study of hardened cement paste by backscatter scanning electron microscopy and image analysis. Dissertation for PhD. degree. Purdue University, 1995

[54] Liu Z, Winslow D. Sub-distributions of pore size: a new approach to correlate pore structure with permeability. Cement and Concrete Research, 1995, 25(4): 769–778

[55] Diamond S. A critical comparison of mercury porosimetry and capillary condensation pore size distributions of portland cement pastes. Cement and Concrete Research, 1971, 1(5): 531–545

[56] Katz A, Thompson A. Quantitative prediction of permeability in porous rock. Physical Review B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, 1986, 34(11): 8179–8181

[57] Chatterji S. A discussion of the paper “Mercury porosimetry—an inappropriate method for the measurement of pore size distributions in cement-based materials” by S. Diamond. Cement and Concrete Research, 2001, 31(11): 1657–1658

[58] Diamond S. Reply to the discussion by S. Chatterji of the paper “Mercury porosimetry—an inappropriate method for the measurement of pore size distributions in cement-based materials”. Cement and Concrete Research, 2001, 31(11): 1659

[59] Wenzel R N. Resistance of solid surfaces to wetting by water. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry, 1936, 28(8): 988–994

[60] Marmur A. Soft contact: measurement and interpretation of contact angles. Soft Matter, 2006, 2(1): 12–17

[61] Marmur A. Solid-surface characterization by wetting. Annual Review of Materials Research, 2009, 39(1): 473–489

[62] Moutinho I, Figueiredo M, Ferreira P. Evaluating the surface energy of laboratory-made paper sheets by contact angle measurements. Tappi Journal, 2007, 6(6): 26–32

[63] Rosales-Leal J, Rodríguez-Valverde M A, Mazzaglia G, Ramón-Torregrosa P J, Díaz-Rodríguez L, García-Martínez O, Vallecillo-Capilla M, Ruiz C, Cabrerizo-Vílchez M A. Effect of roughness, wettability and morphology of engineered titanium surfaces on osteoblast-like cell adhesion. Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects, 2010, 365(1−3): 222–229

[64] Marmur A. Thermodynamic aspects of contact angle hysteresis. Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, 1994, 50: 121–141

[65] Gao L, McCarthy T J. Contact angle hysteresis explained. Langmuir, 2006, 22(14): 6234–6237

[66] Walls J, Smith R. Surface science techniques. Vacuum, 2013, 45(6−7): 647

[67] Hearn N, Hooton R D. Sample mass and dimension effects on mercury intrusion porosimetry results. Cement and Concrete Research, 1992, 22(5): 970–980

[68] Poon C S, Lam L, Wong Y L. A study on high strength concrete prepared with large volumes of low calcium fly ash. Cement and Concrete Research, 2000, 30(3): 447–455

[69] Feldman R F, Beaudoin J J. Pretreatment of hardened hydrated cement pastes for mercury intrusion measurements. Cement and Concrete Research, 1991, 21(2−3): 297–308

[70] Korpa A, Trettin R. The influence of different drying methods on cement paste microstructures as reflected by gas adsorption: comparison between freeze-drying (F-drying), D-drying, P-drying and oven-drying methods. Cement and Concrete Research, 2006, 36(4): 634–649

[71] Konecny L, Naqvi S J. The effect of different drying techniques on the pore size distribution of blended cement mortars. Cement and Concrete Research, 1993, 23(5): 1223–1228

[72] Good R J, Mikhail R S. The contact angle in mercury intrusion porosimetry. Powder Technology, 1981, 29(1): 53–62

[73] Feldman R F. Pore structure damage in blended cements caused by mercury intrusion. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 1984, 67(1): 30–33

[74] Ma H. Mercury intrusion porosimetry in concrete technology: tips in measurement, pore structure parameter acquisition and application. Journal of Porous Materials, 2014, 21(2): 207–215

[75] ISO15901-1. Evaluation of Pore Size Distribution and Porosimetry of Solid Materials by Mercury Porosimetry and Gas Adsorption—Part 1: Mercury Porosimetry (International Organization for Standardization. 2005. Geneva: 6–9

[76] Kaufmann J, Loser R, Leemann A. Analysis of cement-bonded materials by multi-cycle mercury intrusion and nitrogen sorption. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 2009, 336(2): 730–737

[77] Kumar R, Bhattacharjee B. Study on some factors affecting the results in the use of MIP method in concrete research. Cement and Concrete Research, 2003, 33(3): 417–424

[78] Ye G, Van Breugel K, Fraaij A. Three-dimensional microstructure analysis of numerically simulated cementitious materials. Cement and Concrete Research, 2003, 33(2): 215–222

[79] Winslow D. Some experimental possibilities with mercury intrusion porosimetry. MRS Proceedings. Cambridge Univ Press, 1988

[80] Bonard J M, Croci M, Klinke C, Kurt R, Noury O, Weiss N. Carbon nanotube films as electron field emitters. Carbon, 2002, 40(10): 1715–1728

[81] Lau A K T, Hui D. The revolutionary creation of new advanced materials—carbon nanotube composites. Composites Part B: Engineering, 2002, 33(4): 263–277

[82] Fragneaud B, Masenelli-Varlot K, Gonzalez-Montiel A, Terrones M, Cavaillé J Y. Mechanical behavior of polystyrene grafted carbon nanotubes/polystyrene nanocomposites. Composites Science and Technology, 2008, 68(15−16): 3265–3271

[83] Li G Y, Wang P M, Zhao X. Pressure-sensitive properties and microstructure of carbon nanotube reinforced cement composites. Cement and Concrete Composites, 2007, 29(5): 377–382

[84] Makar J, Margeson J, Luh J. Carbon nanotube/cement composites-early results and potential applications. Conference on Construction Materials, 2005

[85] Moore E M, Ortiz D L, Marla V T, Shambaugh R L, Grady B P. Enhancing the strength of polypropylene fibers with carbon nanotubes. Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 2004, 93(6): 2926–2933

[86] Zhao Q, Gan Z, Zhuang Q. Electrochemical sensors based on carbon nanotubes. Electroanalysis, 2002, 14(23): 1609–1613

[87] Riggs J E, Guo Z, Carroll D L, Sun Y P. Strong luminescence of solubilized carbon nanotubes. Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2000, 122(24): 5879–5880

[88] Makar J, Beaudoin J. Carbon nanotubes and their application in the construction industry. Special Publication- Royal Society of Chemistry, 2004, 292: 331–341

[89] Yu M F, Lourie O, Dyer M J, Moloni K, Kelly T F, Ruoff R S. Strength and breaking mechanism of multiwalled carbon nanotubes under tensile load. Science, 2000, 287(5453): 637–640

[90] Salvetat J P, Bonard J M, Thomson N H, Kulik A J, Forró L, Benoit W, Zuppiroli L. Mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes. Applied Physics A: Materials Science & Processing, 1999, 69(3): 255–260

[91] Walters D, Ericson L M, Casavant M J, Liu J, Colbert D T, Smith K A, Smalley R E. Elastic strain of freely suspended single-wall carbon nanotube ropes. Applied Physics Letters, 1999, 74(25): 3803–3805

[92] Berber S, Kwon Y K, Tomanek D. Unusually high thermal conductivity of carbon nanotubes. Physical Review Letters, 2000, 84(20): 4613–4616

[93] Louie S G. Electronic properties, junctions, and defects of carbon nanotubes. In: Dresselhaus M S, Dresselhaus G, Avouris P, eds. Carbon Nanotubes. Springer, 2001, 113–145

[94] Cwirzen A, Habermehl-Cwirzen K, Penttala V. Surface decoration of carbon nanotubes and mechanical properties of cement/carbon nanotube composites. Advances in Cement Research, 2008, 20(2): 65–73

[95] Makar J M, Chan G W. Growth of cement hydration products on single-walled carbon nanotubes. Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 2009, 92(6): 1303–1310

[96] Barraza H J, Pompeo F, O’Rea E A, Resasco D E. SWNT-filled thermoplastic and elastomeric composites prepared by miniemulsion polymerization. Nano Letters, 2002, 2(8): 797–802

[97] Saez de Ibarra Y, Gaitero J J, Erkizia E, Campillo I. Atomic force microscopy and nanoindentation of cement pastes with nanotube dispersions. Physica Status Solidi (a), 2006, 203(6): 1076–1081

[98] Ma R Z, Wu J, Wei B Q, Liang J, Wu D H. Processing and properties of carbon nanotubes–nano-SiC ceramic. Journal of Materials Science, 1998, 33(21): 5243–5246

[99] Wansom S, Kidner N J, Woo L Y, Mason T O. AC-impedance response of multi-walled carbon nanotube/cement composites. Cement and Concrete Composites, 2006, 28(6): 509–519

[100] Fu X, Chung D. Submicron-diameter-carbon-filament cement-matrix composites. Carbon, 1998, 36(4): 459–462

[101] Eitan A, Jiang K, Dukes D, Andrews R, Schadler L S. Surface modification of multiwalled carbon nanotubes: toward the tailoring of the interface in polymer composites. Chemistry of Materials, 2003, 15(16): 3198–3201

[102] Cwirzen A, Habermehl-Cwirzen K, Nasibulin A G, Kaupinen E I, Mudimela P R, Penttala V. SEM/AFM studies of cementitious binder modified by MWCNT and nano-sized Fe needles. Materials Characterization, 2009, 60(7): 735–740

[103] Musso S, Tulliani J M, Ferro G, Tagliaferro A. Influence of carbon nanotubes structure on the mechanical behavior of cement composites. Composites Science and Technology, 2009, 69(11−12): 1985–1990

[104] Konsta-Gdoutos M S, Metaxa Z S, Shah S P. Multi-scale mechanical and fracture characteristics and early-age strain capacity of high performance carbon nanotube/cement nanocomposites. Cement and Concrete Composites, 2010, 32(2): 110–115

[105] Sanchez F, Ince C. Microstructure and macroscopic properties of hybrid carbon nanofiber/silica fume cement composites. Composites Science and Technology, 2009, 69(7−8): 1310–1318

[106] Musso S, Porro S, Vinante M, Vanzetti L, Ploeger R, Giorcelli M, Possetti B, Trotta F, Pederzolli C, Tagliaferro A. Modification of MWNTs obtained by thermal-CVD. Diamond and Related Materials, 2007, 16(4): 1183–1187

[107] Chaipanich A, Nochaiya T, Wongkeo W, Torkittikul P. Compressive strength and microstructure of carbon nanotubes–fly ash cement composites. Materials Science and Engineering A, 2010, 527(4): 1063–1067

[108] Nochaiya T, Tolkidtikul P, Singjai P, Chaipanich A. Microstructure and characterizations of Portland-carbon nanotubes pastes. Advanced Materials Research, 2008, 55: 549–552

[109] Pandey S, Sharma R. The influence of mineral additives on the strength and porosity of OPC mortar. Cement and Concrete Research, 2000, 30(1): 19–23

[110] Abell A, Willis K, Lange D. Mercury intrusion porosimetry and image analysis of cement-based materials. Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, 1999, 211(1): 39–44

[111] Pipilikaki P, Beazi-Katsioti M. The assessment of porosity and pore size distribution of limestone Portland cement pastes. Construction & Building Materials, 2009, 23(5): 1966–1970

[112] Atahan H N, Oktar O N, Taşdemir M A. Effects of water–cement ratio and curing time on the critical pore width of hardened cement paste. Construction & Building Materials, 2009, 23(3): 1196– 1200

[113] Lu Z, Hou D, Meng L, Sun G, Lu C, Li Z. Mechanism of cement paste reinforced by graphene oxide/carbon nanotubes composites with enhanced mechanical properties. RSC Advances, 2015, 5(122): 100598–100605

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg