Enhancing cement hydration by core/shell PS@SiO2 nanoparticles

Nanoparticles are widely used in construction. Here, nano-SiO2 is employed, in a way that prevents agglomeration of the nanoparticles, as pozzolanic material to improve Portland cement hydration and to improve the properties of the concrete. To explore the effect of nano-SiO2 and core-shell PS@SiO2 on cement properties, spherical polystyrene particles were prepared by dispersion polymerization of styrene in polar solvents and characterized by FTIR and E-SEM. The core shells PS@SiO2 were synthesized by Stöber method. The results showed an amorphous nano-SiO2 layer can be deposited uniformly on polystyrene particles. This core/shell structure was reducing the aggregation of nano-SiO2 effectively. It was shown that PS@SiO2 particles improved the concrete performances compared to blended cement with nano-SiO2 due to the agglomeration affect. Highlights • Core/shell PS@SiO2 nanoparticles with a uniform coating layer were prepared. • As-prepared nanoparticles were characterized by a variety of advanced methods. • Nanoparticles accelerate hydration and lower the spatial weight of cement paste. • Core/shell nanoparticles improve cement hydration much better than nano-SiO2.