C,SH,, can be prepared in stirred suspensions using lime and silicic acid with CdSi = 3.0 for 14 days at 270°C under saturated steam pressure. The C,SH,,5 which forms consists of long, fibrous or prismatic aggregates having a specific surface area of 14.0 m'/g. The specimen gives an average CdSi ratio of 2.98 (29 crystals) and lattice parameters of a = 1.00291(8) nm and c = 0.74842(11) nm by ATEM and XRD examinations, respectively. NMR examination confirms the existence of dimer silicate anions in C,SH,,s, suggesting the possible composition Ca,(Si,O,)(OH),. Upon being heated, C,SH,,5 dehydrates at 520-550°C with a sharp endothermy and decomposes to CaO plus a calciochondrodite-like phase, which on further heating dissociates, with a gradual weight loss, to a;-C,S with CaO at 800°C. The intermediate calciochondrodite-like phase has low crystallinity, but zgSi MAS NMR and infrared spectra identical for highly crystalline calciochondrodite. CPMAS measurements indicate the possibility that the calciochondrodite-like phase contains both protonated and unprotonated monosilicate anions. The amount of CaO which forms through the two-step process agrees with the calculated values from the stoichiometry of decomposition: [Ca,(Si,O,)(OH),] + [Ca,(SiO,),(OH),] + CaO + 2H,O + a;-(Ca,(SiO,) + 2Ca0 + H,O.