4D nanoimaging of early age cement hydration

Shiva Shirani, Ana Cuesta, Alejandro Morales-Cantero, Isabel Santacruz, Ana Diaz, Pavel Trtik, Mirko Holler, Alexander Rack, Bratislav Lukic, Emmanuel Brun, Inés R. Salcedo and Miguel A. G. Aranda ()
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Shiva Shirani: Universidad de Málaga
Ana Cuesta: Universidad de Málaga
Alejandro Morales-Cantero: Universidad de Málaga
Isabel Santacruz: Universidad de Málaga
Ana Diaz: Paul Scherrer Institut
Pavel Trtik: Paul Scherrer Institut
Mirko Holler: Paul Scherrer Institut
Alexander Rack: ESRF-The European Synchrotron
Bratislav Lukic: ESRF-The European Synchrotron
Emmanuel Brun: Université Grenoble Alpes, Inserm UA7 STROBE
Inés R. Salcedo: Universidad de Málaga
Miguel A. G. Aranda: Universidad de Málaga

Nature Communications, 2023, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Despite a century of research, our understanding of cement dissolution and precipitation processes at early ages is very limited. This is due to the lack of methods that can image these processes with enough spatial resolution, contrast and field of view. Here, we adapt near-field ptychographic nanotomography to in situ visualise the hydration of commercial Portland cement in a record-thick capillary. At 19 h, porous C-S-H gel shell, thickness of 500 nm, covers every alite grain enclosing a water gap. The spatial dissolution rate of small alite grains in the acceleration period, ∼100 nm/h, is approximately four times faster than that of large alite grains in the deceleration stage, ∼25 nm/h. Etch-pit development has also been mapped out. This work is complemented by laboratory and synchrotron microtomographies, allowing to measure the particle size distributions with time. 4D nanoimaging will allow mechanistically study dissolution-precipitation processes including the roles of accelerators and superplasticizers.

Date: 2023
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-38380-1

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