Title: On sol-gel approach to geopolymerisation

Authors: Hwai-Chung Wu, Peijiang Sun

Addresses: Advanced Infrastructure Materials Laboratory, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. ' TKW Consulting Engineers, Inc., 5621 Banner Drive, Fort Myers, FL 33912, USA

Abstract: Geopolymers have attracted much attention since the 1980s. However, their geopolymerisation mechanisms are not well understood, partly due to the complexity of the formation of amorphous phases that are difficult to characterise. The objectives of this paper are to first provide a-state-of-the-art review, and then to focus on the sol-gel chemistry of aluminosilicate which is able to describe the geopolymerisation process. With these guidelines, many industrial wastes can be utilised in making value-added materials. Preliminary studies on mix design for fly ash based geopolymers provide strong support for the importance of the SiO2/Al2O3 and Na2O/Al2O3 ratio.

Keywords: geopolymers; geopolymerisation; inorganic polymers; sol-gel; aluminosilicates.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEE.2011.039449

International Journal of Environmental Engineering, 2011 Vol.3 No.2, pp.103 - 122

Published online: 25 Apr 2015 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article