In this experimental study, the mechanical and adhesion properties of several hydraulic lime mortars incorporating graphene oxide (GO)-based nanomaterials were evaluated. Four different composite mortar samples were prepared by adding different percentages of GO-based powders (functionalized), i.e., 1 wt.% GO, 5 wt.% GO, 5wt.% GO-Ag-GO-Fly ash, and 5 wt.% GO-ZnO-GO-TiO2 into the reference mortar sample. The mortar specimens were analyzed through mechanical tests, FT-IR, and SEM. The behavior of selected mortars exposed to chemical attacks was also investigated. The results indicate that the addition of the functionalized GO-based powders leads to a significant improvement in the mortar’s adhesion to the brick substrate (up to 80%) compared to the reference sample, especially in the case of the hydraulic lime mortar incorporating the mixture of GO-Ag and GO-Fly ash, which also showed good resistance to chemical attacks.
The study evaluated the impact of graphene powders used as additives in the recipe of the experimental lime mortar to a mixture ratio of 1:2.5 of NHL3.5 hydraulic lime:fine sand. The content of binder, aggregate and water was kept constant, varying only the amount and the type of the added additives in relation to the amount of natural hydraulic lime NHL3.5. The following five types of experimental mortars were prepared as follows: reference mortar (without additive); mortars containing 1 wt.% GO and 5 wt.% GO powder; mortar with the following GO powders mixture: GO powder functionalized with silver nanoparticles and with fly ash (GO-Ag + GO-fly ash); mortar with the following GO powders mixture: GO with zinc oxide and with titanium oxide (GO-ZnO + GO-TiO2). The influence of the GO-based additive addition on the porosity, surface microstructure, and water sorption coefficient of the mortar samples was evaluated. The antibacterial effect of the mortar samples against three bacterial strains was also investigated. The best results were obtained for the experimental mortar containing GO-ZnO -TiO2, which showed improved experimental properties that potentially allow its use for the rehabilitation of heritage buildings.
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