Mechanical performance, pore structure and micro-structural characteristics of graphene oxide nano platelets reinforced cement

Graphene oxide nanoplatelets (GONPs) have unique physical properties that make them effective reinforcing materials. The attractive properties of graphene oxide have led to enhance the graphene-polymer nanocomposites. However, limited studies have been performed on using graphene oxide in cementitious nano composites. This article investigates the effect of GONPs reinforcement on mechanical properties, pore size distribution and the micro-structural characteristics of the hardened cement composites. GONPs were added at different percentages of 0, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03, 0.04 and 0.05 wt% of cement. Compressive and indirect tensile strengths were determined at 28 days of hydration. Thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used for studying the phase composition, the pore size distribution was studied using nitrogen adsorption at 77.35K technique and the microstructure was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Results revealed that, considerable enhancements in both compressive and indirect tensile strengths by about 13 and 41% have been achieved by incorporating GONPs into cement matrix by about 0.02 and 0.03%, respectively. The integration of GONPs into cement has significantly reduced the pore size of the GONPs-modified cement pastes and led to a considerable improvement in the microstructure, with a consequent improvement in the mechanical properties of these composites.