Uniform Composition of Sol-Gel Synthetic Aluminosilicate Precursor as a Key Factor for the Production of Geopolymers

Dias de Andrade, Bruna; Costa, Leonardo Martins; Aguilar, Maria Teresa Paulino; Houmard, Manuel

doi:10.1061/JMCEE7.MTENG-15571

Technical Papers

May 31, 2023

Uniform Composition of Sol-Gel Synthetic Aluminosilicate Precursor as a Key Factor for the Production of Geopolymers

Authors: Bruna Dias de Andrade [email protected], Leonardo Martins Costa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0656-649X [email protected], Maria Teresa Paulino Aguilar [email protected], and Manuel Houmard https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1543-5416 [email protected]Author Affiliations

Publication: Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering

Volume 35, Issue 8

https://doi.org/10.1061/JMCEE7.MTENG-15571

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Abstract

This paper aims to study the fabrication of geopolymers from precursors synthesized by the sol-gel process. Two precursors were produced: the first one from a physical mixture of silica and alumina synthesized separately by the sol-gel technique, and the second one from a one-step co-condensation sol-gel process. The sol-gel products and a commercial metakaolin were activated with sodium hydroxide and sodium silicate to produce the geopolymers. The physically-mixed precursor did not lead to enough hard geopolymers, thus presenting a rubbery behavior. However, the geopolymers derived from the one-step sol-gel aluminosilicate reached adequate strength at 28 days with a lower density than from the commercial metakaolin. This confirms the good alkaline activity of this sol-gel precursor, which could be an alternative source to produce geopolymers or to be used as a reinforcement additive. Such results also underline that a uniform composition of the precursor is a key factor to produce geopolymers with adequate properties.

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Data Availability Statement

No data, models, or code were generated or used during the study.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank financial support from CNPq (301423/2018-0) and FAPEMIG.

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Journal of Materials in Civil Engineering

Volume 35 • Issue 8 • August 2023

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Received: Sep 7, 2022

Accepted: Jan 24, 2023

Published online: May 31, 2023

Published in print: Aug 1, 2023

Discussion open until: Oct 31, 2023

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Bruna Dias de Andrade [email protected]

Departamento de Engenharia de Materiais e Construção, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, MG CEP: 31270-901, Brasil. Email: [email protected]

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Leonardo Martins Costa https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0656-649X [email protected]

Departamento de Engenharia Metalúrgica e de Materiais, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, MG CEP: 31270-901, Brasil; Centro de Tecnologia em Nanomateriais e Grafeno (CTNano), R. Professor José Vieira de Mendonça, n° 520 – Engenho Nogueira, Belo Horizonte, MG CEP: 31310-260, Brasil. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0656-649X. Email: [email protected]

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Maria Teresa Paulino Aguilar [email protected]

Professor, Departamento de Engenharia de Materiais e Construção, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, MG CEP: 31270-901, Brasil. Email: [email protected]

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Manuel Houmard https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1543-5416 [email protected]

Professor, Departamento de Engenharia Química, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Pampulha, Belo Horizonte, MG CEP: 31270-901, Brasil; Centro de Tecnologia em Nanomateriais e Grafeno (CTNano), R. Professor José Vieira de Mendonça, n° 520 – Engenho Nogueira, Belo Horizonte, MG CEP: 31310-260, Brasil (corresponding author). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1543-5416. Email: [email protected]

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