Nanocomposite of cement/graphene oxide – Impact on hydration kinetics and Young’s modulus

•Graphene oxide(GO)/cement matrix composites have been synthesized.•Graphene oxide additive in cement 3 (wt%) significantly enhanced Young’s modulus.•The kinetics of the hydration is not strongly altered in GO/cement composite.•The morphology of the GO/cement composites is almost the same as the reference.•The homogeneous distribution of the GO flakes in a cement matrix was observed.

The application of nanomaterials in construction is a new alternative to enhance the mechanical properties of the traditional materials, e.g., cement mortars and concretes. One of the most interesting nanomaterials which still requires detailed investigation is graphene and graphene oxide. The study presented in this paper aims at assessing how 3 wt% of graphene oxide incorporated into the cement can affect the microstructure and physical–mechanical properties of the cement composite. Therefore, here we present study on early age mechanical response of the cement mortar modified with graphene oxide using atomic force microscopy (AFM). The kinetics of the hydration process was investigated by Infrared, Raman, X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The morphology of the nanocomposite was revealed by the scanning electron microscopy (SEM).