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Glass structure of industrial ground granulated blast furnace slags (GGBS) investigated by time-resolved Raman and NMR spectroscopies

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Abstract

Ground granulated blast furnace slags (GGBS) are glassy by-products from iron production that are commonly used as supplementary cementitious materials in blended cements. The glass structure of seven industrial GGBS was investigated by Raman and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopies. The complex composition of the slags induced multiple analytical challenges. Under usual continuous excitation, the Raman signal was masked by strong luminescence, so that analysis was carried out on a time-resolved Raman (TRR) device. TRR allowed to eliminate luminescence and resulted in exploitable spectra that showed variations in line with theoretical NBO/T values. The analysis of 27Al and 29Si NMR spectra was complicated by the presence of paramagnetic nuclei and the wide variety of environments. Nevertheless, 27Al NMR showed that Al was present as a network former, mainly in fourfold coordination and careful analyses of 29Si NMR spectra allowed the comparison of glass network polymerization of industrial GGBS in line with the theoretical NBO/T based on their composition.

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Acknowledgements

This project has received funding from the Research Fund for Coal and Steel under grant agreement No 749809 (Actislag). The Renishaw Invia spectrometers were funded by the EquipeX PlaneX ANR-11-EQPX-36

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LMDC, Université de Toulouse, INSA/UPS Génie Civil, 135 Avenue de Rangueil, 31077, Toulouse Cedex 04, France

    Simon Blotevogel, Mathilde Poirier, Cédric Patapy & Martin Cyr

  2. Conditions Extrêmes Et Matériaux: Haute Température Et Irradiation CEMHTI, CNRS UPR 3079, Univ. d’Orléans, 1D Avenue de la Recherche Scientifique, 45071, Orléans Cedex 2, France

    Valérie Montouillout, Aurélien Canizares, Patrick Simon, Erwan Chesneau & Abel Danezan

  3. Ecocem Materials, Block F1, Eastpoint Business Park, Dublin 3, 324061, Ireland

    Thomas Wattez & Mathilde Poirier

  4. Institut Für Baustoff-Forschung E.V. (FEHS), Bliersheimer Str.62, 47229, Duisburg, Germany

    Andreas Ehrenberg

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  1. Simon Blotevogel
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Blotevogel, S., Montouillout, V., Canizares, A. et al. Glass structure of industrial ground granulated blast furnace slags (GGBS) investigated by time-resolved Raman and NMR spectroscopies. J Mater Sci 56, 17490–17504 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-021-06446-4

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