Alkali-Activated Materials

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352). This special issue belongs to the section "Inorganic Crystalline Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2022)

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Material Evolution Ltd, Materials Processing Institute, Eston Road, Middlesbrough TS6 6US, Cleveland, UK
Interests: geopolymer concrete; alkali-activated materials; concrete durability; high-performance construction materials; fire engineering
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

One of the challenges for the material engineering community is to realize high performance building materials, in harmony with the concept of sustainable development, which have low environmental impact and can be produced at reasonable cost. Although Portland cement is a high performance building material, high emission of CO2 in the atmosphere during its production caused researchers to pay attention to other alternatives like alkali-activated materials (AAMs) to prepare environmentally friendly building materials leading to the concept of sustainable development.

The aim of this Special Issue on alkali-activated materials (AAMs) is to provide a comprehensive overview of all aspects related to materials including mineral composition, chemical composition and crystal structure groups and technology affects the formation and performance of alkali- activated materials (AAMs) in different aggressive environments. This review also explores the current problems hindering the universal acceptance and large-scale application of AAMs. This Special Issue will bring together high-quality research articles on the different aspects of AAMs including its current status and remaining challenges.

Dr. Dali Bondar
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • alkali‐activated materials
  • activators
  • waste materials
  • recycled materials
  • AAMs in Chloride environment
  • AAMs in Sulfate environment
  • life cycle

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 2012 KiB  
Article
Chemical and Microstructural Properties of Fly Ash and Fly Ash/Slag Activated by Waste Glass-Derived Sodium Silicate
by Dali Bondar and Raffaele Vinai
Crystals 2022, 12(7), 913; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst12070913 - 27 Jun 2022
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1831
Abstract
Sodium silicate is commonly used for activating alumina silicates to produce alkali-activated binders that can compete with conventional Portland cement in concrete. However, the cost and emissions related to activators can hinder the use of alkali-activated materials in the industry. The novel, waste-based [...] Read more.
Sodium silicate is commonly used for activating alumina silicates to produce alkali-activated binders that can compete with conventional Portland cement in concrete. However, the cost and emissions related to activators can hinder the use of alkali-activated materials in the industry. The novel, waste-based activators have been developed in the last years, using Si-rich waste streams. Processing waste glass cullet not only reduces the glass landfill disposal but also allows the production of sodium silicate for alkali activation. In this article, the chemical and microstructural properties of neat fly ash and blended 60 fly ash/40 slag pastes activated by sodium silicate produced from glass cullet were studied and compared to equivalent ones activated by commercially available sodium silicate and sodium hydroxide solutions. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) were used to determine the microstructure and composition of the gel phase. Findings have confirmed that pastes activated by the processed waste glass showed chemical and microstructural properties comparable to pastes produced with commercially available activators. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alkali-Activated Materials)
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24 pages, 7856 KiB  
Article
Possibilities of Application Cement By-Pass Dust into the Garden Architecture Elements
by Lukáš Procházka, Barbara Vojvodíková and Jana Boháčová
Crystals 2021, 11(9), 1033; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst11091033 - 28 Aug 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1630
Abstract
This article deals with the possibility of using cement by-pass dust (CBPD) in the garden architecture elements, specifically in curbs for park use. To increase the positive effect on the environment, other secondary raw materials were also used in the research, specifically blast [...] Read more.
This article deals with the possibility of using cement by-pass dust (CBPD) in the garden architecture elements, specifically in curbs for park use. To increase the positive effect on the environment, other secondary raw materials were also used in the research, specifically blast furnace granulated slag and silica fly ash. Mixtures were based on alkali activation, where cement as a binder was 100% replaced by raw materials with waste properties. In the research, properties of used materials and also the basic physical-mechanical and durability properties of prepared mixtures were determined Part of the research focused on the effect of the tested beams on the grassland planted around the beams. Any significant negative impact was not registered, except for low pH increase of soil. Infrared spectroscopy and thermal analysis were performed on selected samples. Testing has shown that the products are in accordance with the Czech standard requirements for concrete curbs in garden architecture. The samples did not pass only the scaling test, which is, however, a condition for concrete curbs used for roads. For garden architecture this test is not required. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alkali-Activated Materials)
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