Mechanical properties and microstructure of multilayer graphene oxide cement mortar

Abstract

This study reports on the effects of multilayer graphene oxide (MGO) on compressive strength, flexural strength, and microstructure of cement mortar. The cement mortar was prepared with type P. II. 52.5 Portland cement, standard sand, and MGO. Four mixes were prepared with inclusion of MGO (0%, 0.02%, 0.04%, and 0.06% by weight of cement). The testing result shows that the compressive of GO-cement mortar increased by 4.84%–13.42%, and the flexural strength increased by 4.37%–8.28% at 3 d. GO-cement mortar’s compressive strength and flexural strength at 7 d increased by 3.84%–12.08% and 2.54%–13.43%, respectively. MGO made little contribution to the increases of compressive strength and flexural strength of cement mortar at 28 d. The results of X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscope (SEM), and nitrogen (N₂) adsorption/desorption tests show that the types of hydration products and crystal grain size did not change after adding MGO. Still, it can help to improve the microstructure of the cement mortar via regulating hydration products and can provide more condensed cores to accelerate hydration. Furthermore, the regulating action of MGO for the microstructure of cement mortar at an early age was better than that at 28 d.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

graphene oxide / cement / mortar / mechanical properties / microstructure

References

[1] Chuah S, Pan Z, Sanjayan J G, Wang C M, Duan W H. Nano reinforced cement and concrete composites and new perspective from graphene oxide. Construction & Building Materials, 2014, 73: 113–124

[2] Hou Y G, Lv S H, Liu L P, Liu X. High-quality preparation of graphene oxide via the Hummers’ method: Understanding the roles of the intercalator, oxidant, and graphite particle size. Ceramics International, 2020, 46(2): 2392–2402

[3] Sharma S, Kothiyal N C. Influence of graphene oxide as dispersed phase in cement mortar matrix in defining the crystal patterns of cement hydrates and its effect on mechanical, microstructural and crystallization properties. RSC Advances, 2015, 5(65): 52642–52657

[4] Li W G, Li X Y, Chen S J, Liu Y M, Duan W H, Shah S P. Effects of graphene oxide on early-age hydration and electrical resistivity of Portland cement paste. Construction & Building Materials, 2017, 136: 506–514

[5] Lu Z Y, Li X Y, Hanif A, Chen B M, Parthasarathy P, Yu J G, Li Z J. Early-age interaction mechanism between the graphene oxide and cement hydrates. Construction & Building Materials, 2017, 152: 232–239

[6] Yang H B, Monasterio M, Cui H Z, Han N X. Experimental study of the effects of graphene oxide on microstructure and properties of cement paste composite. Composites. Part A, Applied Science and Manufacturing, 2017, 102: 263–272

[7] Li X Y, Li C Y, Liu Y M, Chen S J, Wang C M, Sanjayan J G, Duan W H. Improvement of mechanical properties by incorporating graphene oxide into cement mortar. Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures, 2018, 25(15–16): 1313–1322

[8] Li X Y, Liu Y M, Li W G, Li C Y, Sanjayan J G, Duan W H, Li Z J. Effects of graphene oxide agglomerates on workability, hydration, microstructure and compressive strength of cement paste. Construction and Building Materials, 2017, 145: 402–410

[9] Pan Z, He L, Qiu L, Korayem A H, Li G, Zhu J W, Collins F, Li D, Duan W H, Wang M C. Mechanical properties and microstructure of a graphene oxide-cement composite. Cement and Concrete Composites, 2015, 58: 140–147

[10] Lv S H, Hu H Y, Zhang J, Lei Y, Sun L, Hou Y G. Structure, performances, and formation mechanism of cement composites with large-scale regular microstructure by distributing uniformly few-layered graphene oxide in cement matrix. Structural Concrete, 2019, 20(1): 471–482

[11] Peng H, Ge Y P, Cai C S, Zhang Y X, Liu Z. Mechanical properties and microstructure of graphene oxide cement-based composites. Construction & Building Materials, 2019, 194: 102–109

[12] Wang Q, Wang J, Lu C X, Liu B W, Zhang K, Li C Z. Influence of graphene oxide additions on the microstructure and mechanical strength of cement. New Carbon Materials, 2015, 30(4): 349–356

[13] Kudžma A, Škamat J, Stonys R, Krasnikovs A, Kuznetsov D, Girskas G, Antonovič V. Study on the effect of graphene oxide with low oxygen content on Portland cement based composites. Materials. Materials (Basel), 2019, 12: 802

[14] Chintalapudi K, Pannem R M R. The effects of Graphene Oxide addition on hydration process, crystal shapes, and microstructural transformation of ordinary Portland cement. Journal of Building Engineering, 2020, 32: 101551

[15] Abrishami M E, Zahabi V. Reinforcing graphene oxide/cement composite with NH₂ functionalizing group. Bulletin of Materials Science, 2016, 39(4): 1073–1078

[16] Zhao L, Guo X L, Ge C, Li Q, Shu X, Guo L P, Shu X, Liu J P. Mechanical behavior and toughening mechanism of polycarboxylate superplasticizer modified graphene oxide reinforced cement composites. Composites Part B: Engineering, 2017, 113: 308–316

[17] Gong K, Pan Z, Korayem A H, Qiu L. Reinforcing effects of graphene oxide on Portland cement paste. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 2014, 27(2): A4014010

[18] Li W G, Li X Y, Chen S J, Long G C, Liu Y M, Duan W H. Effects of nanoalumina and graphene oxide on early-age hydration and mechanical properties of cement paste. Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering, 2017, 29(9): 04017087

[19] Pang J C, Wang Y M. Graphene oxide on the microstructure and mechanical properties of cement based composite material. Fracture and Structural Integrity, 2018, 45: 156–163

[20] Lee S J, Jeong S H, Kim D U, Won J P. Effects of graphene oxide on pore structure and mechanical properties of cementitious composites. Composite Structures, 2020, 234: 111709

[21] Long W J, Wei J J, Xing F, Khayat K H. Enhanced dynamic mechanical properties of cement paste modified with graphene oxide nanosheets and its reinforcing mechanism. Cement and Concrete Composites, 2018, 93: 127–139

[22] Chen J, Li Y R, Huang L, Li C, Shi G Q. High-yield preparation of graphene oxide from small graphite flakes via an improved Hummers method with a simple purification process. Carbon, 2015, 81: 826–834

[23] Sun L, Fugetsu B. Mass production of graphene oxide from expanded graphite. Materials Letters, 2013, 109: 207–210

[24] Yang H J, Li H Y, Zhai J L, Sun L, Yu H W. Simple synthesis of graphene oxide using ultrasonic cleaner from expanded graphite. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 2014, 53(46): 17878–17883

[25] Lu W J, Qin F X, Zhang Q C, Remillat C, Wang H, Scarpa F, Peng H X. Engineering foam skeletons with multilayered graphene oxide coatings for enhanced energy dissipation. Composites. Part A, Applied Science and Manufacturing, 2020, 137: 106035

[26] Qin C B, Qiao Z X, He W J, Gong Y N, Zhang G F, Chen R Y, Gao Y, Xiao L T, Jia S T. Laser-driven propulsion of multilayer graphene oxide flakes. Journal of Materials Chemistry. C, Materials for Optical and Electronic Devices, 2018, 6(9): 2329–2335

[27] Sun C Z, Liu M, Bai B F. Molecular simulations on graphene-based membranes. Carbon, 2019, 153: 481–494

[28] Wei Y, Zhang Y S, Gao X L, Ma Z, Wang X J, Gao C J. Multilayered graphene oxide membranes for water treatment: A review. Carbon, 2018, 139: 964–981

[29] Wang J Q, Zhang P, Liang B, Liu Y X, Xu T, Wang L F, Cao B, Pan K. Graphene oxide as an effective barrier on a porous nanofibrous membrane for water treatment. ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2016, 8(9): 6211–6218

[30] Chiranjiakumari Devi S, Ahmad Khan R. Influence of graphene oxide on sulfate attack and carbonation of concrete containing recycled concrete aggregate. Construction & Building Materials, 2020, 250: 118883

[31] Chen Z S, Zhou X, Wang X, Guo P. Mechanical behavior of multilayer GO carbon-fiber cement composites. Construction & Building Materials, 2018, 159: 205–212

[32] GB/T 175–2007. Common Portland Cement. Chinese National Standard, 2007

[33] JG/T 223–2007. Polycarboxylates High Performance Water-reducing Admixture. Chinese Construction Industry Standard, 2007

[34] Li C Y, Chen S J, Li W G, Li X Y, Ruan D, Duan W H. Dynamic increased reinforcing effect of graphene oxide on cementitious nanocomposite. Construction & Building Materials, 2019, 206: 694–702

[35] Lv S H, Liu J J, Sun T, Ma Y J, Zhou Q F. Effect of GO nanosheets on shapes of cement hydration crystals and their formation process. Construction & Building Materials, 2014, 64: 231–239

[36] GB 17671–1999. Method of Testing Cements––Determination of strength. Chinese National Standard, 1999

[37] GB/T 2419–2005. Test Method for Fluidity of Cement Mortar. Chinese National Standard, 2005

[38] Ghazizadeh S, Duffour P, Skipper N T, Bai Y. Understanding the behaviour of graphene oxide in Portland cement paste. Cement and Concrete Research, 2018, 111: 169–182

[39] Wang L, Zhang S, Zheng D, Yang H, Cui H, Tang W, Li D. Effect of graphene oxide (GO) on the morphology and microstructure of cement hydration products. Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland), 2017, 7(12): 429–439

[40] Yan X T, Zheng D P, Yang H B, Cui H Z, Monasterio M, Lo Y. Study of optimizing graphene oxide dispersion and properties of the resulting cement mortars. Construction & Building Materials, 2020, 257: 119477

[41] Jing G J, Wu J M, Lei T Y, Wang S X, Strokova V, Nelyubova V, Wang M J, Ye Z M. From graphene oxide to reduced graphene oxide: Enhanced hydration and compressive strength of cement composites. Construction & Building Materials, 2020, 248: 118699

[42] Thomas J J, Jennings H M, Chen J J. Influence of nucleation seeding on the hydration mechanisms of tricalcium silicate and cement. Journal of Physical Chemistry C, 2009, 113(11): 4327–4334

[43] Mounanga P, Khelidj A, Loukili A, Baroghel-Bouny V. Predicting Ca(OH)₂ content and chemical shrinkage of hydrating cement pastes using analytical approach. Cement and Concrete Research, 2004, 34(2): 255–265

[44] Qureshi T S, Panesar D K. Impact of graphene oxide and highly reduced graphene oxide on cement based composites. Construction & Building Materials, 2019, 206: 71–83

[45] Wang Q, Li S Y, Pan S, Cui X Y, Corr D J, Shah S P. Effect of graphene oxide on the hydration and microstructure of fly ash-cement system. Construction & Building Materials, 2019, 198: 106–119

[46] Long W J, Li H D, Fang C L, Xing F. Uniformly dispersed and re-agglomerated graphene oxide-based cement pastes: A comparison of rheological properties, mechanical properties and microstructure. Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland), 2018, 8(1): 31

[47] Kang X J, Zhu X H, Qian J S, Liu J P, Huang Y B. Effect of graphene oxide (GO) on hydration of tricalcium silicate (C3S). Construction & Building Materials, 2019, 203: 514–524

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to appreciate the financial sponsored by Shanghai Sailing Program No. 20YF1431800.

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2021 Higher Education Press