Effect of Ultraviolet Aging on Rheology and Chemistry of LDH-Modified Bitumen

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are an ultravioletlight (UV)-resistant material. In this study, two types of LDHs (Mg-Al-LDHs and Zn-Al-LDHs) were applied to modify bitumen by melt-blending. The effect of ultraviolet aging on the rheology and chemistry of LDH-modified bitumen was studied by means of dynamic shear rheometer (DSR), thin-layer chromatography with flame ionization detection (TLC-FID), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Ultraviolet-Visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry to reveal the mechanisms of action for LDHs and bitumen. The results showed that within the UV spectra (220–400 nm), the reflectance of Zn-Al-LDHs was larger than that of Mg-Al-LDHs. These two LDHs have different influences on the performance of bitumen. Mg-Al-LDHs had a more obvious influence on the physical and dynamic rheological properties of bitumen than Zn-Al-LDHs. Zn-Al-LDHs improved the UV-aging resistance of bitumen more. The reason can be that the reflectance of the Zn-Al-LDHs to the UV light is larger than that of the Mg-Al-LDHs. The Zn-Al-LDH-modified bitumen had more potential to improve the UV-aging resistance during the service life of asphalt pavement.