Rheological Behaviors of Edge-Oxidized Graphene Oxide Cement Composites

Abstract

This paper presents investigations on the effects of edge-oxidized graphene oxide (EOGO) on the rheological performance of cement composites. EOGO is produced by a mechanochemical process that can be large production with significantly reduced cost, which enables practical use in infrastructure construction. The work scope is limited to the use of EOGO as an additive in cement paste and cement mortar. This study explored two mix design methods, a dry-mix design and wet-mix design. The dry-mix design method involves the use of EOGO as a dry powder in cement composites, whereas the wet-mix design method means its use as a water-dispersed solution through a sonication process in those cement composites. Varied contents of EOGO ranging from 0.01% through 1.0% were used in both mix design methods. The experimental results show that EOGO-cement composites show higher viscosity than control specimens, which is supported by a microstructure assessment with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). In addition, it is found that the fluidity of cement composites slightly decreased and apparent viscosity slightly increased with the wet-mix design when compared with the dry-mix design. These results indicate that using the dry-mix design method for EOGO-cement composites is feasible and more practical for field applications.