Mineralogical evolution of raw materials transformed to geopolymer materials: A review

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleResearchpeer review

Authors

  • Sylvain Tome
  • Achile Nana
  • Hervé K. Tchakouté
  • Jadambaa Temuujin
  • Claus H. Rüscher

Research Organisations

External Research Organisations

  • University of Douala
  • University of Dschang
  • University of Yaounde I
  • CITI University
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Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)35855-35868
Number of pages14
JournalCeramics international
Volume50
Issue number19, Part B
Early online date2 Jul 2024
Publication statusPublished - 1 Oct 2024

Abstract

The geopolymerization reaction is a chemical process involving the dissolution of amorphous, semi-crystalline and crystalline phases following alkaline or acid attack at ambient or at low temperature (T˂100 °C). Together with precondensed entities of the used activator solution the dissolved parts form a geopolymer network which glues together all remaining unreacted parts as ingredients of the artificial stone. The fate of the mineralogical phases present in the precursors used in the synthesis of alkaline and acid geopolymers is reviewed in this article. The different starting materials used in the synthesis of geopolymers and the different techniques used to modify the reactivity of these materials are reported. The mineralogical evolution of the amorphous, semi-crystalline and crystalline phases after activation at ambient and at low temperatures (T < 100 °C) is also reported. This study shows that for the mineralogical investigation of raw material, precursors and geopolymers, XRD is the most widely used analytical method. The most commonly used method to confirm the participation of crystalline phases in geopolymerization is the comparison of the diffractograms of the raw material to those of the products. It also indicates that, in addition to the amorphous aluminosilicate phases, certain semi-crystalline, and crystalline phases participate in this geopolymerization dynamic either by undergoing total or partial dissolution to form an inorganic macromolecule with an amorphous structure of the zeolitic type and other new minerals. The composition of the phases formed depends on the base material. Increasing the synthesis temperature promotes the dissolution of phases, the formation of geopolymer networks, and in some cases, the formation of new phases such as sodalities, zeolite A and zeolite P. Little work has been done to quantify the mineralogical phases before and after precursor activation, making it impossible to assess dissolution, the degree of geopolymerization, and mineral formation. The exact structure of the phases formed is often questionable, as most of the papers do not mention their reference structure number. There is also a lack of quantification of the amorphous phase resulting from the hardening of the activating solution and the evaluation of the fraction of the amorphous phase contained in the precursor remains unreacted. The mineralogical investigation must also extend to the quantification of phases using Rietveld refinement with internal standards to correlate these with the physical and mechanical properties of geopolymer products. Additional mineralogical study techniques, such as thin sections, should be used in future work for in-depth mineralogical investigation of geopolymers.

Keywords

    Activation, Dissolution, Geopolymerization, Minerals, New minerals, Precursor

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Cite this

Mineralogical evolution of raw materials transformed to geopolymer materials: A review. / Tome, Sylvain; Nana, Achile; Tchakouté, Hervé K. et al.
In: Ceramics international, Vol. 50, No. 19, Part B, 01.10.2024, p. 35855-35868.

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articleResearchpeer review

Tome, S, Nana, A, Tchakouté, HK, Temuujin, J & Rüscher, CH 2024, 'Mineralogical evolution of raw materials transformed to geopolymer materials: A review', Ceramics international, vol. 50, no. 19, Part B, pp. 35855-35868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2024.07.024
Tome, S., Nana, A., Tchakouté, H. K., Temuujin, J., & Rüscher, C. H. (2024). Mineralogical evolution of raw materials transformed to geopolymer materials: A review. Ceramics international, 50(19, Part B), 35855-35868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2024.07.024
Tome S, Nana A, Tchakouté HK, Temuujin J, Rüscher CH. Mineralogical evolution of raw materials transformed to geopolymer materials: A review. Ceramics international. 2024 Oct 1;50(19, Part B):35855-35868. Epub 2024 Jul 2. doi: 10.1016/j.ceramint.2024.07.024
Tome, Sylvain ; Nana, Achile ; Tchakouté, Hervé K. et al. / Mineralogical evolution of raw materials transformed to geopolymer materials : A review. In: Ceramics international. 2024 ; Vol. 50, No. 19, Part B. pp. 35855-35868.
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AU - Tome, Sylvain

AU - Nana, Achile

AU - Tchakouté, Hervé K.

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AU - Rüscher, Claus H.

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors

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N2 - The geopolymerization reaction is a chemical process involving the dissolution of amorphous, semi-crystalline and crystalline phases following alkaline or acid attack at ambient or at low temperature (T˂100 °C). Together with precondensed entities of the used activator solution the dissolved parts form a geopolymer network which glues together all remaining unreacted parts as ingredients of the artificial stone. The fate of the mineralogical phases present in the precursors used in the synthesis of alkaline and acid geopolymers is reviewed in this article. The different starting materials used in the synthesis of geopolymers and the different techniques used to modify the reactivity of these materials are reported. The mineralogical evolution of the amorphous, semi-crystalline and crystalline phases after activation at ambient and at low temperatures (T < 100 °C) is also reported. This study shows that for the mineralogical investigation of raw material, precursors and geopolymers, XRD is the most widely used analytical method. The most commonly used method to confirm the participation of crystalline phases in geopolymerization is the comparison of the diffractograms of the raw material to those of the products. It also indicates that, in addition to the amorphous aluminosilicate phases, certain semi-crystalline, and crystalline phases participate in this geopolymerization dynamic either by undergoing total or partial dissolution to form an inorganic macromolecule with an amorphous structure of the zeolitic type and other new minerals. The composition of the phases formed depends on the base material. Increasing the synthesis temperature promotes the dissolution of phases, the formation of geopolymer networks, and in some cases, the formation of new phases such as sodalities, zeolite A and zeolite P. Little work has been done to quantify the mineralogical phases before and after precursor activation, making it impossible to assess dissolution, the degree of geopolymerization, and mineral formation. The exact structure of the phases formed is often questionable, as most of the papers do not mention their reference structure number. There is also a lack of quantification of the amorphous phase resulting from the hardening of the activating solution and the evaluation of the fraction of the amorphous phase contained in the precursor remains unreacted. The mineralogical investigation must also extend to the quantification of phases using Rietveld refinement with internal standards to correlate these with the physical and mechanical properties of geopolymer products. Additional mineralogical study techniques, such as thin sections, should be used in future work for in-depth mineralogical investigation of geopolymers.

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