1. WETTING ANGLE: NEW PARAMETER INDICATING THE REACTIVITY OF ALKALINE SOLUTIONS AND GEOPOLYMER BINDERS.
- Author
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Gharzouni, Ameni, Vidal, Laeticia, Stocky, Robin, Peyne, Julie, and Rossignol, Sylvie
- Subjects
ALKALINE solutions ,BINDING agents ,REACTIVITY (Chemistry) ,KAOLIN ,ACTIVATION (Chemistry) ,MOLECULAR structure - Abstract
Geopolymers are inorganic aluminosilicate materials synthesized at room temperature by the activation of metakaolin with an alkaline solution. The comprehension of the structure and the parameters controlling the reactivity of alkaline solutions as well as their interaction with aluminosilicate species is primordial. In this study, based on Raman and FTIR data spectroscopy, wetting angle measurement was investigated as a new technique to evaluate the depolymerization degree of the alkaline solution. Different solutions with different alkali cations (K, Na, Li) and different Si/M molar ratios were studied. The results showed that the cation influences the formation of various reactive species (rings, chains, oligomers). Moreover, the increase of the depolymerization degree of the solution was evidenced by the increase of the wetting angle. The wetting angle of geopolymer mixtures based on different solutions in presence of the same metakaolin was also investigated. Consequently, for a given metakaolin, lower wetting angle value corresponds to the formation of a single geopolymer network. However, higher wetting angles are attributable to the existence of several networks. Thus, the wetting angle can be considered as a parameter to determine the reactivity of alkaline solutions and their interaction with metakaolin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017