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This paper deals with characterization of multiple waste expanded perlites (WEP) from local central European sources with an emphasis on their suitability for use in cement composites. Influence of the milling time on their properties was studied. Both raw and milled WEP samples were thoroughly characterized in terms of their physical properties, composition, particle size, specific surface area, and pozzolanic activity. The findings affirm their potential as supplementary cementitious materials.

In recent years, nanoparticles have emerged as an important player in a broad range of applications, especially thanks to recent advances in their synthesis. The silver and copper nanoparticles are often used due to their antibacterial and fungicidal activities, and this article presents the results of the nanoparticle synthesis using electrical glow discharge generated directly in a volume of their salt solutions. Therefore, there is no influence of air (i.e. reactive nitrogen species) as it is usual in other commonly used approaches. Nanoparticles were prepared under various experimental conditions, and they were characterized by ultraviolet/visible spectrometry, dynamic light scattering, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy. Particles were produced without any surfactant or stabilizing agent, and some of them showed higher resistance against agglomeration during their short-term (days) storage. The nanoparticle formation mechanism was confirmed by the fast camera imaging. Thus, the developed approach can be applied for simple environmentally friendly nanoparticle production for various applications., IV posledních letech je pozorován prudký nárůst aplikací nanočástic, a to zejména díky progresu v jejich přípravě. Stříbrné a měděné nanočástice jsou často užívány pro svou antimikrobiální a antimykotickou aktivitu. Článek prezentuje syntézu těchto annočástic pomocí plazmatu generovaného přímo ve vodném roztoku anorganických solí, tedy bez přístupu vzduchu. Proces přípravy probíhal za různých podmínek. K charakterizaci nanočástic bylo využito UVS-VIS spektrometrie, dynamického rozptylu světla, rentgenovské fotoelektronové spektormetrie avysoce rozlišující skenovací elektronové mikroskopie. Částice byly připravovány bez použití surfaktantů nebo jiných stabilizačních činidel, a některé z nich nevykazovaly po řadu dní aglomerační tendence. Mechanismus vzniku nanočástic byl potvrzen s využitím snímání vysokorychlostní kamerou. Použitý přístup představuje efektivní a přírodě přátelský postup přípravy kovových nanočástic.

The degradation processes in surface layers of cementitious composites can be mitigated either by optimizing of the material or by applying surface protection. In this paper, the effect of lithium silicate (LS) sealer is investigated. Water absorbance is studied on standard cement mortar; frost resistance and porosity are examined on two types of concrete (C30/37 and C50/60). The results indicate that LS impregnation improves the water absorbance only slightly and only in the case of short exposure to water; water absorbance was reduced by 15-25% immediately after applying the LS sealer, but the effect was negligible (2-8%) after 24 hours of immersion in water. Frost resistance was not affected by LS impregnation, but a significant improvement of mechanical parameters (flexural tensile strength and weight loss after 50 freeze-thaw cycles) was observed. The resistivity of the concrete surface was increased by LS impregnation by 36-40%, indicating the improvement of quality of the surface layer, while the porosity was practically unaffected

Protection of concrete against aggressive influences from the surrounding environment becomes an important step to increase its durability. Today, alkali silicate solutions are advantageously used as pore-blocking treatments that increase the hardness and impermeability of the concrete’s surface layer. Among these chemical substances, known as concrete densifiers, lithium silicate solutions are growing in popularity. In the present study, the chemical composition of the lithium silicate densifiers is put into context with the properties of the newly created insoluble inorganic gel responsible for the micro-filling effect. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy was used as a key method to describe the structure of the formed gel. In this context, the gelation process was studied through the evolution of viscoelastic properties over time using oscillatory measurements. It was found that the gelation process is fundamentally controlled by the molar ratio of SiO2 and Li2O in the densifier. The low SiO2 to Li2O ratio promotes the gelling process, resulting in a rapidly formed gel structure that affects macro characteristics, such as water permeability, directly related to the durability of treated concretes.

This study investigates the relationships between the hydration kinetics of waterglass-activated slag and the development of its physical-mechanical properties, as well as its color change. To modify the calorimetric response of alkali-activated slag, hexylene glycol was selected from various alcohols for in-depth experiments. In presence of hexylene glycol, the formation of initial reaction products was restricted to the slag surface, which drastically slowed down the further consumption of dissolved species and slag dissolution and consequently delayed the bulk hydration of the waterglass-activated slag by several days. This allowed to show that the corresponding calorimetric peak is directly related to the rapid evolution of the microstructure and physical-mechanical parameters and to the onset of a blue/green color change recorded as a time-lapse video. Workability loss was correlated with the first half of the second calorimetric peak, while the most rapid increase in strengths and autogenous shrinkage was related to the third calorimetric peak. Ultrasonic pulse velocity increased considerably during both the second and third calorimetric peak. Despite the modified morphology of the initial reaction products, the prolonged induction period, and the slightly reduced degree of hydration induced by hexylene glycol, the overall mechanism of alkaline activation remained unchanged in the long-term perspective. It was hypothesized that the main issue of the use of organic admixtures in alkali-activated systems is the destabilizing effect of these admixtures on soluble silicates introduced into the system with an activator.

Alkali-activated systems (AAS) represent an ecologically and economically sustainable inorganic binder as an alternative to ordinary Portland cement (OPC). One of the main benefits of AAS is their durability in aggressive environments, which can be equal or even better than that of OPC. In this paper, the influence of the type of alkaline activator in alkali-activated blast furnace slag (AAS) in terms of resistance to sulfur dioxide corrosion was investigated. The durability testing process was based on the CSN EN ISO 3231 standard and simultaneously compared with mortar samples prepared by using Blastfurnace cement CEM III/A 32.5R. The degradation progress was evaluated by employing several different methods such as observing the compressive strength development, weight change evaluation, non-destructive testing methods like ultrasound or impact echo technique, or visual phenolphthalein technique. Subsequently, fundamental characterization of samples by the XRD method was performed during the degradation test. The obtained results indicate that none of the testing methods used could be prioritized over others to determine the resistance of AAS against the action of sulfur dioxide. For this reason, the durability testing of AAS remains an issue, and the development of specific standards considering the behavior of AAS seems necessary.

Belite-rich cement represents one of the low carbon footprint binders. Nevertheless, its use is ac-companied by a low initial rate of hydration. This can be partially eliminated by the grinding to high specific surfaces or by the addition of admixtures (mineralizators or activators). The influence of alkaline activators: CaSO4, Na2SO4 and Na2CO3 (in the amount of 5wt.% related to the clinker weight) on hydration course as well as the quantity of hydration products of belite-rich cements were investigated within this paper. Belite-rich clinker was laboratory synthetized and grinded together with activators to prepare various belite-rich cements. Next, the hydration kinetics and the hydrated phase assemblage were investigated using the isothermal calorimetry, X-ray powder diffraction and thermogravimetric and differential thermal analyses. The use of selected admixtures allows to obtain belite-rich cements with the higher hydraulic activity in initial times.

The aim of the presented work was evaluation of an effect of various conditions on the performance of two developed concretes based on alkali-activated slag and cement kiln by-pass dust (BD). BD was used as a partial replacement of natural aggregates while slag as an aluminosilicate precursor activated by a combination of waterglass and sodium hydroxide solution (resulting silicate modulus of 0.5). The concretes differed only in an activator dose which was 4 and 6% of Na2O with respect to the slag weight. The prepared specimens were sealed-cured for the first 28 days and then their resistance to freeze-thaw cycles and aggressive solutions (ammonium nitrate, acetic acid and sulphates) was tested. Evolution of dynamic modulus showed that both concretes resisted well to freeze-thaw cycles as well as to most solutions, where their dynamic modulus tended to increase in most cases or did not change significantly. Only the concrete with 4% Na2O showed poor resistance to acetic acid solution as the specimens completely disintegrated until 50 days.

The very early stages of alkaline activation of slag control its rheology and setting, but also affect its hydration, which occurs later. Simultaneously, these parameters are dictated by the nature and dose of the alkaline activator. Therefore, we investigated and compared the changes in slag particles (SEM, BET, laser diffraction), as well as in the pore solution composition (ICP–OES), pH, and conductivity, of alkali-activated slag (AAS) pastes containing the three most common sodium activators (waterglass, hydroxide, and carbonate) and water during the first 24 h of its activation. To ensure the best possible comparability of the pastes, a fairly nontraditional mixture design was adopted, based on the same concentration of Na+ (4 mol/dm3) and the same volume fraction of slag in the paste (0.50). The results were correlated with the pastes’ hydration kinetics (isothermal calorimetry), structural build-up (oscillatory rheology), and setting times (Vicat). Great differences were observed in most of these properties, in the formation of hydration products, and in the composition of the pore solution for each activator. The results emphasize the role of the anionic groups in the activators and of the pH, which help predict the sample’s behavior based on its calorimetric curve, and offer data for further comparisons and for the modelling of AAS hydration for specific activators.

Rheology of alkali-activated slag (AAS) is a very complex issue, where the activator nature as well as its dose play an important role. Moreover, the use of water-reducing admixtures in these systems is an issue, as they often do not work properly. This could be attributed to the high pH as well as to the surface chemistry of AAS. Therefore, lignosulfonate-, polynaphthalene- and polycarboxylate-based superplasticizers were used to modify AAS pastes with sodium waterglass, hydroxide and carbonate activator. These pastes were tested using a rotational rheometer in an oscillatory shear mode of increasing shear strain to observe the evolution of viscoelastic moduli and to determine the oscillatory stress corresponding to the linear viscoelastic region limit ("yield point") and to the crossover point, where the storage modulus equals the loss modulus ("flow point"). In most cases, the used plasticizers did not improve the rheological properties; the only exception was the lignosulfonate one in sodium hydroxide-activated slag.

The resistance of alkali-activated materials (AAMs) to degradation processes, particularly the decalcification, was studied in this paper. The ground granulated blast furnace slag was alkali-activated using various activators with the same activator dosage 6% Na2O by slag weight (sodium hydroxide, sodium waterglass and sodium carbonate) and subjected to testing of decalcification resistance (immersion in 6M NH4NO3) for 84 days. The reference samples were stored in water. The progress of degradation was studied using the phenolphthalein technique, mechanical properties testing (compressive and flexural strength), and dilatometry analysis or weight measurements. The results obtained were compared to the CEM III/A 32.5R. The significant loss of mass along with the deterioration of mechanical properties were observed for all binder types, still some of the AAMs showed better durability than the cementitious one.

The rheological properties of alkali-activated systems are significantly affected by the nature of the alkaline activator. Hydroxide-activated systems' workability is typically lower than that of alkali-activated systems but can be improved by lignosulfonate plasticizer. However, the lignosulfonate plasticizer's effectivity depends on the dosage of lignosulfonate, the nature of hydroxide and pH of their solutions. Therefore, in this study, the effectiveness of lignosulfonate plasticizer with respect to alkali ion type (Na+, K+, Li+) in alkali hydroxide-activated systems based on ground granulated blast furnace slag was evaluated. The concentration of the alkaline activator (NaOH, KOH and LiOH) was the same in all cases of 4M. The superplasticizer dosage was 0%, 0.5% and 1.0% of dry matter of lignosulfonate plasticizer to the slag weight. Rheological properties were determined using a rotational rheometer equipped with vane in-cup geometry working in oscillation amplitude sweep mode, from which critical strain and corresponding viscoelastic variables were obtained.

The development of flexible, lightweight, and thin high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding materials is urgently needed for the protection of humans, the environment, and electronic devices against electromagnetic radiation. To achieve this, the spinel ferrite nanoparticles CoFe2O4 (CZ1), Co0.67Zn0.33Fe2O4 (CZ2), and Co0.33Zn0.67Fe2O4 (CZ3) were prepared by the sonochemical synthesis method. Further, these prepared spinel ferrite nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were embedded in a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrix. The maximum electromagnetic interference (EMI) total shielding effectiveness (SET) values in the frequency range 8.2–12.4 GHz of these nanocomposites with a thickness of only 0.8 mm were 48.3, 61.8, and 67.8 dB for CZ1-rGO-TPU, CZ2-rGO-TPU, and CZ3-rGO-TPU, respectively. The high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding characteristics of the CZ3-rGO-TPU nanocomposite stem from dipole and interfacial polarization, conduction loss, multiple scattering, eddy current effect, natural resonance, high attenuation constant, and impedance matching. The optimized CZ3-rGO-TPU nanocomposite can be a potential candidate as a lightweight, flexible, thin, and high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding material.

Superparamagnetic ZnFe2O4 spinel ferrite nanoparticles were prepared by the sonochemical synthesis method at different ultra-sonication times of 25 min (ZS25), 50 min (ZS50), and 100 min (ZS100). The structural properties of ZnFe2O4 spinel ferrite nanoparticles were controlled via sonochemical synthesis time. The average crystallite size increases from 3.0 nm to 4.0 nm with a rise of sonication time from 25 min to 100 min. The change of physical properties of ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles with the increase of sonication time was observed. The prepared ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles show superparamagnetic behavior. The prepared ZnFe2O4 nanoparticles (ZS25, ZS50, and ZS100) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) were embedded in a polyurethane resin (PUR) matrix as a shield against electromagnetic pollution. The ultra-sonication method has been used for the preparation of nanocomposites. The total shielding effectiveness (SET) value for the prepared nanocomposites was studied at a thickness of 1 mm in the range of 8.2–12.4 GHz. The high attenuation constant (α) value of the prepared ZS100-RGO-PUR nanocomposite as compared with other samples recommended high absorption of electromagnetic waves. The existence of electric-magnetic nanofillers in the resin matrix delivered the inclusive acts of magnetic loss, dielectric loss, appropriate attenuation constant, and effective impedance matching. The synergistic effect of ZnFe2O4 and RGO in the PUR matrix led to high interfacial polarization and, consequently, significant absorption of the electromagnetic waves. The outcomes and methods also assure an inventive and competent approach to develop lightweight and flexible polyurethane resin matrix-based nanocomposites, consisting of superparamagnetic zinc ferrite nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide as a shield against electromagnetic pollution. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

The development of flexible, lightweight, and thin high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding materials is urgently needed for the protection of humans, the environment, and electronic devices against electromagnetic radiation. To achieve this, the spinel ferrite nanoparticles CoFe2O4 (CZ1), Co0.67Zn0.33Fe2O4 (CZ2), and Co0.33Zn0.67Fe2O4 (CZ3) were prepared by the sonochemical synthesis method. Further, these prepared spinel ferrite nanoparticles and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) were embedded in a thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) matrix. The maximum electromagnetic interference (EMI) total shielding effectiveness (SET) values in the frequency range 8.2-12.4 GHz of these nanocomposites with a thickness of only 0.8 mm were 48.3, 61.8, and 67.8 dB for CZ1-rGO-TPU, CZ2-rGO-TPU, and CZ3-rGO-TPU, respectively. The high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding characteristics of the CZ3-rGO-TPU nanocomposite stem from dipole and interfacial polarization, conduction loss, multiple scattering, eddy current effect, natural resonance, high attenuation constant, and impedance matching. The optimized CZ3-rGO-TPU nanocomposite can be a potential candidate as a lightweight, flexible, thin, and high-performance electromagnetic interference shielding material. ©

Herein, we report sonochemical synthesis of MnFe2O4 spinel ferrite nanoparticles using UZ SONOPULS HD 2070 Ultrasonic homogenizer (frequency: 20 kHz and power: 70 W). The sonication time and percentage amplitude of ultrasonic power input cause appreciable changes in the structural, cation distribution and physical properties of MnFe2O4 nanoparticles. The average crystallite size of synthesized MnFe2O4 nanoparticles was increased with increase of sonication time and percentage amplitude of ultrasonic power input. The occupational formula by Xray photoelectron spectroscopy for prepared spinel ferrite nanoparticles was (Mn0.29Fe0.42[Mn0.71Fe1.58]O-4 and (Mn0.28Fe0.54) [Mn0.72Fe1.46]O-4 at sonication time 20 min and 80 min, respectively. The value of the saturation magnetization was increased from 1.9 emu/g to 52.5 emu/g with increase of sonication time 20 min to 80 min at constant 50% amplitude of ultrasonic power input, whereas, it was increased from 30.2 emu/g to 59.4 emu/g with increase of the percentage amplitude of ultrasonic power input at constant sonication time 60 min. The highest value of dielectric constant (epsilon') was 499 at 1 kHz for nanoparticles at sonication time 20 min, whereas, ac conductivity was 368 x 10(-9) S/cm at 1 kHz for spinel ferrite nanoparticles at sonication time 20 min. The demonstrated controllable physical characteristics over sonication time and percentage amplitude of ultrasonic power input are a key step to design spinel ferrite material of desired properties for specific application. The investigation of microwave operating frequency suggest that these prepared spinel ferrite nanoparticles are potential candidate for fabrication of devices at high frequency applications.