Influence of vinyl acetate-versatic vinylester copolymer on the microstructural characteristics of cement pastes

Abstract

To understand the principles of polymer modification and its interference in the formation of some phases of Portland cement composites, several techniques are adopted such as Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy and Thermogravimetric Analysis. In this study, these techniques were adopted to verify the influence of VA/VeoVA copolymer in seven pastes of high-early-strength portland cement twenty-eight days old, being four pastes with different polymer content and the same water/cement ratio, and the other three with extra water content increased by polymer content. In addition, scanning electronic microscopy was employed to verify the formation of copolymer film. The results showed possible interaction between acetate anion from the partial hydrolysis of copolymer and Ca++ ion from C2S and C3S hydration. Moreover, the magnitude of the decrease of portlandite formation is directly affected by water/cement ratio. By SEM analyses, the formation of two matrices, being one organic and the other inorganic, was also observed.

Keywords

• cement paste
• thermogravimetric analysis
• infrared spectroscopy
• VA/VeoVA