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Mechanism study of effect of superplasticizers on the fluidity of alkali-activated materials

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Abstract

This work evaluates the application effect and mechanism of superplasticizers (SPs) in alkali-activated materials (AAM). Naphthalene superplasticizer (NS), aliphatic superplasticizer (AS) and polycarboxylate superplasticizer (PS) were selected, and three aluminosilicate precursors and two alkali activators were used to prepare AAM. The results showed that all three SPs cannot effectively improve the fluidity of AAM paste, but have certain plasticizing effect in AAM mortar. Both the molecular structure and absorption property of the three SPs changed in AAM. The activator NaOH had more serious damage to the molecular structure of SPs, while the competitive adsorption of Na2SiO3 to SPs was more intense. The intrinsic viscosity and infrared spectrum characteristic peak of AS were relatively stable, followed by NS, while the PS molecule was the most unstable in the alkaline environment. For precursors, metakaolin had the highest surface adsorption energy, resulting in its winding with the incomplete SPs molecule damaged by activator and a decrease in paste fluidity. For fly ash with a smooth surface and low calcium content, its absorption capacity to SPs was the worst, having the smallest adsorption layer thickness of SPs and |ζ| potential. Although the slag could form effective absorption with the anion of SPs, there was significant competition for calcium ions between the SPs and activators, causing the detachment of SPs from the slag surface.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51878421), Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (E2021210128) and Central Government Foundation for Guiding Local Science and Technology Development (216Z3801G).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, 050043, China

    Zirui Fan, Lijuan Kong, Jiatao Lu & Xiaobo Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Mechanical Behavior and System Safety of Traffic Engineering Structures, Shijiazhuang Tiedao University, Shijiazhuang, 050043, China

    Lijuan Kong

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  1. Zirui Fan
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Fan, Z., Kong, L., Lu, J. et al. Mechanism study of effect of superplasticizers on the fluidity of alkali-activated materials. Mater Struct 56, 29 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1617/s11527-023-02120-0

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