Study of carbonation rate of synthetic C-S-H by XRD, NMR and FTIR

Supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) like fly ash (FA) and blast furnace slag (BFS) are broadly used in concrete to replace part of the Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) because of both economic and environmental issues. In concrete blended with SCMs, C-S-H with different C/S ratios, formed from the hydration and pozzolanic reactions of blended cement, is the major calcium-bearing phases which reacts with CO2 during carbonation. Therefore, it is important to study the carbonation rate of different C-S-H phases. In this paper, the C-S-H phases (C/S ratio: 0.66 to 2.0) were synthesized and used for accelerated carbonation testing. Synthetic C-S-H phases with different C/S ratios were identified by X-ray diffraction and 29Si nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Carbonation rate and products of different C-S-H phases are also determined. The results show that C-S-H (I) phases with different target C/S ratio (lower than 1.40) were synthesized in the mix solution of lime and fume silica. The portlandite appears in the products when the designed C/S ratio is higher than 1.40 under this synthetic condition. C-S-H with lower C/S ratio is decomposed faster than that with a higher C/S ratio. After exposition to the accelerated carbonation condition for three days, in this research, the C-S-H phases with different C/S ratio were all fully decomposed to CaCO3 and silica gel.