Research progresses of new type alkali-activated cementitious material catalyst

Abstract

Alkali-activated solid aluminosilicate-based cementitious material is one of prospective research fields of advanced inorganic non-metallic materials. Its classification, preparation process, formation mechanism, and potential applications are reviewed in this paper. It is considered that its microstructure and chemical characteristics intensively depend on the raw materials and synthesis conditions. Geopolymers derive from alkali-activated metakaolin or fly ash with low calcium content, while the amorphous calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gels root in the chemical-activated solid wastes of granular blast furnace slag, steel slag and other solid aluminosilicate wastes with high calcium contents. Even though durability of alkali-activated cementitious materials as the building structure materials has been widely studied in the past decades, the intrinsic brittleness still restricts their applications in the field of civil and building engineering. Therefore, exploration of a new applied approach is by far the best option. In recent years, many researches report that the alkali-activated cementitious materials are used as novel precursors and catalysts for some kinds of heterogeneous reactions. The latest research progresses on alkali-activated cementitious material-based catalysts are discussed.