The nano-branched structure of cementitious calcium-silicate-hydrate gel

Jorge S. Dolado, Michael Griebel, Jan Hamaekers, Frederik Heber

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

69 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Manipulation of concrete at the nanoscale is severely limited by the lack of precise knowledge on the nanostructure of calcium-silicate-hydrate gel, the main binding phase of cement-based materials. Here we report a computational description of C-S-H, which for the first time reconciles the existing structural and colloidal/gel-like models. Our molecular dynamic simulations predict the formation of a branched three-dimensional C-S-H solid network where the segmental branches (SB) are ∼3 × 3 × 6 nm-sized. The presented simulations account well for the features observed through Small Angle Neutron Scattering (SANS) experiments as well with various observations made by synchrotron X-ray, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR), and Inelastic Neutron Spectroscopy (INS) measurements and lead to a better understanding of the cementitious nanostructure formation and morphology.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)4445-4449
Number of pages5
JournalJournal of Materials Chemistry
Volume21
Issue number12
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 28 Mar 2011

Funding

FundersFunder number
Seventh Framework Programme214030

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'The nano-branched structure of cementitious calcium-silicate-hydrate gel'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this