American Chemical Society, Langmuir, 13(31), p. 3779-3783, 2015
DOI: 10.1021/la504478j
Full text: Download
Calcium silicates hydrates (C-S-H) are the most abundant hydration products in ordinary Portland cement paste. Yet, despite the critical role they play determining mechanical and transport properties, there is still a debate on their density and exact composition. Here, the site-specific mass density and composition of C-S-H in hydrated cement paste are determined with nanoscale resolution in a non-destructive approach. We used ptychographic X-ray computed tomography in order to determine spatially resolved mass density and water content of the C-S-H within the microstructure of the cement paste. Our findings indicate that the C-S-H at the border of hydrated alite particles have a higher density than the apparent inner-product C-S-H, which is contrary to the common expectations from previous works on hydrated cement paste.