Effect of Graphene Oxide/Graphene Hybrid on Mechanical Properties of Cement Mortar and Mechanism Investigation

Abstract

This paper evaluated the effect of graphene oxide/graphene (GO/GR) hybrid on mechanical properties of cement mortar. The underlying mechanism was also investigated. In the GO/GR hybrid, GO was expected to act as a dispersant for GR while GR was used as reinforcement in mortar due to its excellent mechanical properties. For the mortar specimen, flexural and compressive strength were measured at varied GO to GR ratios of 1:0, 3:1, 1:1, 1:3, and 0:1 by keeping the total amount of GO and GR constant. The underlying mechanism was investigated through the dispersibility of GR, heat releasing characteristics during hydration, and porosity of mortar. The results showed that GO/GR hybrid significantly enhanced the flexural and compressive strength of cement mortars. The flexural strength reached maximum at GO:GR = 1:1, where the enhancement level was up to 23.04% (28 days) when compared to mortar prepared with only GO, and up to 15.63% (7 days) when compared to mortar prepared with only GR. In terms of compressive strength, the enhancement level for GO:GR = 3:1 was up to 21.10% (3 days) when compared with that of mortar incorporating GO only. The enhancement in compressive strength with mortar at GO:GR = 1:1 was up to 14.69% (7-day) when compared with mortar incorporating GR only. In addition to dispersibility, the compressive strength was also influenced by other factors, such as the degree of hydration, porosity, and pore size distribution of mortar, which made the mortars perform best at different ages.

Effect of Graphene Oxide on Mechanical Properties and Durability of Ultra-High-Performance Concrete Prepared from Recycled Sand

“…With the advancement of nanotechnology, the mixing of nanomaterials into cement-based materials has been increasingly researched. A wide variety of nanomaterials have been investigated, including nano-silicon oxide [ 23 , 24 , 25 ], nano-titanium oxide [ 26 ], carbon nanotubes [ 27 , 28 , 29 ], sulfonated graphene [ 30 , 31 , 32 ], and graphene oxide (GO) [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 ]. GO is a new type of nanomaterial with excellent mechanical properties and good dispersion properties.…”

Failure Analysis of Ultra High-Performance Fiber-Reinforced Concrete Structures Enhanced with Nanomaterials by Using a Diffuse Cohesive Interface Approach

“…Specifically, it has been demonstrated that the addition of only micro-reinforcement in UHPFRC results in being scarcely effective in delaying fracture onset and propagation phenomena, while recent studies in nanotechnology have highlighted the capability of nano-sized reinforcement to enhance the performances of cement-based materials in terms of both strength and fracture toughness [ 22 , 23 , 24 ] without any substantial reduction in their workability. Currently, several types of nanomaterials have been used as a reinforcement of the cementitious paste, such as nanosilica, nanoiron, and, more recently, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene sheets [ 25 , 26 , 27 ]. Among these, carbon-based nanomaterials, which are available in different shapes (particles, fibers, sheets and platelets), possess the best mechanical properties in terms of elastic modulus (reaching values of about 1000 GPa) and tensile strength (with values greater than 100–200 GPa) [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 ].…”

Dynamics of reduced graphene oxide: synthesis and structural models

“…3,9 Furthermore, residual oxygen-containing groups make RGO more compatible with other organic materials in composites than graphene through a considerable transformation from van der Waals to chemical interactions. 48–51 This ultimately enhances mechanical properties. For instance, Monteserín et al 48 reported an improved glass transition temperature and storage modulus of epoxy using RGO additives via possible covalent linkages that enhanced crosslinking density and rigidity.…”