Probing the intrinsic mechanical properties of artinite using high-pressure X-ray diffraction for reactive MgO cement

The significant global CO₂ emissions from the cement industry coerces the development of alternative, low-carbon cement. Reactive MgO cement is a promising candidate, reacting with CO₂ to form hydrated magnesium carbonates. This high-pressure X-ray diffraction study investigates the intrinsic mechanical properties of artinite, a binding phase in reactive MgO cement. Artinite remains structurally resolved up to 6.45 GPa hydrostatic pressure, beyond which the critical diffraction peak (310) is illegible. The bulk modulus of artinite was determined to be 46.3 and 47.7 GPa using the 2nd-order and 3rd-order Birch-Murnaghan Equation of State, respectively. When including applied hydrostatic pressures up to 9.35 GPa, the calculated bulk modulus significantly varied due to the weak intensity of (310) peak, highlighting the impact of data quality and analysis on calculating intrinsic mechanical properties. The experimental results are important for validating computational studies of reactive MgO cement and providing inputs to micromechanics modeling.