Comparative study of physico‐mechanical performance of PPC mortar incorporated 1D/2D functionalized nanomaterials

Abstract

The current study investigates the effect of adding graphene oxide (GO) and functionalized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (FMWCNTs) in pozzolana Portland cement (PPC) mortars to evaluate their mechanical and electrical resistivity properties. The effects of 1D and 2D functionalized carbon nanomaterials in PPC have been studied. At 90 days of curing, the g1PPC (.0015% of GO by weight percentage of binder) and c1PPC (.0015% of FMWCNTs by weight percentage of binder) showed a significant improvement in the physico-mechanical performance of the pozzolana Portland cement composited (PPCC) mortars. The enhanced compressive strength was found to be 11.67% and 8.74% for g1PPC and c1PPC, respectively, as compared to the control specimen (PPC-C). The increased tensile splitting strength was observed to be 26.39% and 20.61% for g1PPC and c1PPC, respectively, as compared to PPC-C. The electrical resistivity of PPCC mortars have been shown a significant improvement for g1PPC and c1PPC. This might be due to the densification of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gel and hydration products. Powdered X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). Field emission-scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) was able to support the improved strength of PPCC mortars via formation of ettringite and needle-shaped crystals in hydrated products.