The introduction of nanomaterials into cement composites has received significant attention with the growing interest in High-Performance Cement composites (HPCs) in the construction industry. Graphene Oxide (GO), a nanomaterial, has shown considerable promise in improving the mechanical properties of cement composites. However, the reasons for this improvement are not yet fully understood and demand further research. This study aims to understand the effect of laboratory-produced GO paste, using Tour’s method, on the mechanical properties and morphology of cement mortar containing GO paste. The GO was characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and Raman spectroscopy alongside Scanning electron microscope (SEM) images. GO paste of 0.738% dry GO content was used for better dispersion and to avoid agglomeration. Cement mortar of 1:3 Portland cement to river sand mix, water to cement ratio of 0.6 and dry GO percentages of 0.02, 0.025, 0.03, 0.035 and 0.04 w.r.t weight of cement were adopted in this study. The presence of GO in cement mortar increased the dry and wet densities and decreased the consistency and setting times. At the optimum of 0.03% GO, the mechanical properties such as the 28-day compressive strength, split tensile strength, and flexural strength were enhanced by 41%, 83% and 43%, respectively. The XRD results of cement indicate an improved crystalline nature of calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H), and SEM images confirmed an increased density of C-S-H. Hence, this research confirms that the presence of GO in cement mortar increases its performance due to increased nucleation sites and increased crystallinity of C-S-H.

Morphology and properties of cement mortar containing laboratory-produced graphene oxide

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