Improved Mechanical Strength of Cement Paste by Polyvinylpyrrolidone and In Situ Polymerized Acrylic Acid
Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 35, Issue 5
Abstract
The intrinsic brittleness of cement hydrates can bring about the potential deterioration of concrete performance, affecting the service life of cement hydrates. In this study, we introduced polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) coupled with in situ polymerized acrylic acid (AA) to toughen conventional cement by constructing a polymer network in the cement matrix. The flexible polymer network, intermingled with cement hydrates, offered softness to the stiff cement matrix, significantly improving its flexural strength and toughness. Compared with the control cement paste, the AA–PVP-modified cement paste displayed an increment in flexural strength up to 86% with the comparable compressive strength to the control one by adjusting the AA–PVP fraction. Cement hydration promoted the polymerization reaction of AA by releasing heat, which ensured a synergistic effect between cement hydration and polymerization. Chemical interactions between carboxyl groups and metal ions ( and ) contributed to the improvement in mechanical strength. This method, the combination of polymer and in situ polymerization of monomers, exhibited extensive application prospects in toughening cement-based materials.
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Data Availability Statement
Some or all data, models, or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Acknowledgments
This work was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China, Excellent Young Scientists Fund (HK&Macau) (File No. 5212290021); the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao science and technology plan (c) (File No. SGDX2020110309360); and the Science and Technology Development Fund, Macau SAR (File No. 0138/2020/A3).
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Published In
Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering
Volume 35 • Issue 5 • May 2023
Copyright
© 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 30, 2021
Accepted: Sep 7, 2022
Published online: Feb 28, 2023
Published in print: May 1, 2023
Discussion open until: Jul 28, 2023
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