Graphene oxide nano-engineering for interfacial transition zone in cement composites

Unmet Need: Mitigating weakness in the interfacial transition zone in cementitious composites.

Cement composites are a type of affordable and versatile artificial building material that have been extensively used in modern civil engineering. However, their inherently quasi-brittle behavior has limited their structural applications, due to the associated crack propagation and poor tensile strength. For practical applications, cement is typically used as a binder for concrete, and it is well known that the interfacial transition zone (ITZ) between aggregates and cement matrix is the weakest zone in cement-based materials, rather than cement itself due to its relatively less compaction and higher porosity.

The Technology: Nano-engineered interfacial transition zone using Graphene Oxide

WSU researchers present a work to engineer the properties of interfacial transition zone (ITZ) by nanomaterial wherein nano-engineering serves to mitigate the weakness in ITZ between aggregates and cement matrix. Graphene oxide (GO) dispersion is employed to pre-saturate fine aggregate (FAg) before mixing FAg with cement. The introduction of GO has the potential to improve the degree of polymerization of hydration products specifically at the ITZ as GO promotes cement hydration.

Applications: