Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Mechanical properties and material characterization of cement mortar incorporating CNT-engineered polyvinyl alcohol latex

2022; Elsevier BV; Volume: 345; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2022.128320

1879-0526

Gengying Li, Linbing Wang, Jing Yu, Biliang Yi, Chunbao He, Zhongkun Wang, Christopher K.Y. Leung,

Structural Behavior of Reinforced Concrete

To overcome the highly brittle nature of cementitious materials, our study aims to explore the potential of incorporating nano-engineered polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) latex in cement mortars. Hydroxyl carbon nanotubes (CNT-OH) were used to enhance the mechanical properties of PVA latex, and the resulting CNT-OH/PVA latex was used to improve the mechanical properties of cement mortars. The morphology and microstructure of CNT-OH/PVA latex and resulting mortars were characterized by SEM, FTIR and XRD. Results showed that incorporating 10 wt% of CNT-OH increased the tensile strength and modulus of solidified PVA latex by 1.56 times and 16.6 times, respectively. CNT-OH/PVA latex increased the compressive strength, flexural strength, fracture toughness and fracture energy of cement mortars by 14.3%, 39.4%, 55.4 % and 134.7%, respectively. The positive effect of CNT-OH/PVA latex on mechanical properties of cement mortars attributed to 1) uniform dispersion of CNT-OH/PVA latex in mortars, 2) acceleration of hydration, 3) chemical and hydrogen bonds between CNT-OH/PVA latex and cementitious matrix; and 4) prevention of cracking and refinement of microstructure in mortars. These findings can provide new insights into the design of high-performance cementitious materials.