Surface energetics of cementitious materials and their wettability by an epoxy adhesive

The surface thermodynamic properties of cementitious materials and the wettability of these substrates by an epoxy adhesive were investigated using various surface analysis techniques.In a first step, surface energies of hardened cement pastes were assessed either by contact angle measurements using the Owens and Wendt approach, or by inverse gas chromatography (IGC). A good correspondence was found between the two techniques for the dispersion contribution γsd, and a strong amphoteric behavior of these materials was also demonstrated. Additionally, a surface carbonaceous contamination detected by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was found to lower the surface energy of as-received samples, whereas an acetone cleaning treatment resulted in increased γsd values.In a second part, surface characterizations were performed on three synthetic compounds, representative of the main hydration products of hardened cement pastes, i.e. calcium hydroxide, ettringite and calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-  H). IGC experiments provided γsd values ranging from 45.6 up to 96.3 mJ m−2 at 35 °C, and the acid–base behavior was correlated to the water content.Last, XPS and IGC analyses were performed on cement paste powders coated either with an epoxy resin (R) or with an amine hardener (H), separately, at mass loadings up to 10 wt.%. Changes in the dispersion contribution to the surface energy (γsd) and Lewis acid–base interaction energy were found to be significantly dependent on the adsorption of both H and R, showing a substantial wetting of the mineral substrate by the adhesive components. In addition, XPS evidenced interfacial hydrogen bonding between the hardener and the cementitious substrates.