Journal Article

Enhancing the reactivity of aluminosilicate materials toward geopolymer synthesis

Ekolu, S. O., Tchadjie, L. N.

2018

Overview

Geopolymers are alternative materials to portland cement, obtained by alkaline activation of aluminosilicates. They exhibit excellent properties and a wide range of potential applications in the field of civil engineering. Several natural aluminosilicates and industrial by-products can be used for geopolymer synthesis, but a lot of starting materials have the disadvantage of poor reactivity and low strength development. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the main methods used to alter the reactivity of aluminosilicate materials for geopolymer synthesis, as reported recently in the literature. The methods consist of mechanical, thermal, physical separation and chemical activation, of which mechanical activation is the most commonly employed technique. The reactivity of the activated aluminosilicate materials is mainly related to the activation method and the treatment parameters. Chemical activation by alkaline fusion is a promising method allowing preparation of one-part geopolymer materials, an alternative class of geopolymeric binders. However, the resulting alkaline-fused geopolymer products are vulnerable to attack by excessive alkalis.

• Publisher: Springer US,Springer,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Activation / Alkalies / alkalis / Aluminosilicates / Aluminum silicates / cement / Cements (Building materials) / Characterization and Evaluation of Materials / Chemical attack / Chemistry and Materials Science / civil engineering / Classical Mechanics / Crystallography and Scattering Methods / industrial byproducts / Materials Science / Organic chemistry / Polymer Sciences / polymers / Portland cements / Reactivity / Review / Solid Mechanics / Synthesis