The effect of CaO/SiO2 molar ratio of CaO-Al2O3-SiO2 glasses on their structure and reactivity in alkali activated system.

The influence of CaO/SiO2 molar ratio of calcium aluminosilicate glasses on resulting structure and reactivity was investigated. Chemical compositions of glasses were chosen to mimic the composition of the fly ash and slag amorphous phase. Understanding the reactivity of these materials is of high importance allowing further development of the composite cements to limit the environmental footprint of cement industry. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy were employed to examine the structure of glasses. Reactivity of the glasses was analyzed on paste samples after 1, 2, 7, 28 and 90days of curing by means of thermogravimetry (TGA), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FTIR. Spectroscopic results emphasize dependence of the structure on the chemical composition of the glasses. The higher CaO/SiO2 the more depolymerized the glass network is, though there is no direct correlation with the reactivity. Significant differences in reactivity is observed primarily between the glasses of peraluminous (CaO/Al2O3<1) and percalcic region (CaO/Al2O3>1). Amongst the pastes made of glasses of percalcic region a higher degree of reaction at later ages is observed for the paste containing glass of lower CaO/SiO2 molar ratio. This is due to both degree of depolimerization and the nature of these glasses (pozzolanic and hydraulic materials). No difference of degree of reaction has been observed within the glasses of CaO/SiO2 lower than 1.