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Alkali-Activated Binders: Properties and Applications in Construction
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Alkali-Activated Binders: Properties and Applications in Construction

A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Construction and Building Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2025 | Viewed by 3248

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Shaoyun Pu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, China
Interests: alkali-activated geopolymers; acid-activated geopolymers; application of alkali-activated binder in geotechnical engineering; geoenvironmental engineering
Dr. Wei Duan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, No. 79 West Yingze Street, Taiyuan, Shanxi 030024, China
Interests: synthesis; characterization and testing of alkali-activated Binders and green materials; in situ testing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Mingzhi Guo

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Civil Engineering, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, China
Interests: alkali-activated geopolymers; low-carbon cementitious materials
Dr. Zhihai He

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Civil Engineering, Shaoxing University, Shaoxing 312000, China
Interests: design; properties and applications of alkali-activated materials
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Our Special Issue is focused on the application of alkali-activated binders in engineering, promising environmentally friendly materials used in buildings, roads, and for environmental remediation. These  binders are prepared from industrial and construction waste containing Si and Al under the action of alkaline activators; they exhibit excellent mechanical properties and chemical durability. Different applications of alkali-activated binders have received widespread attention.

This Special Issue aims to publish innovative and original scientific research related to alkali-activated materials in the form of high-quality studies, literature reviews, and particularly important engineering application case studies. Suitable topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Preparation, testing, and characterization of alkali-activated materials;
  • Application of alkali-activated binders in environmental geotechnical engineering;
  • Geopolymer technology;
  • Solid-waste utilization based on alkaline-activated technology.

Dr. Shaoyun Pu
Dr. Wei Duan
Dr. Mingzhi Guo
Dr. Zhihai He
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • low-carbon materials
  • alkali-activated binders
  • preparation technology
  • characterization
  • solid-waste utilization
  • engineering applications

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

26 pages, 13346 KiB  
Article
Mechanical Characteristics of Soft Clay Solidified by Incorporating Granulated Blast Furnace Slag, Magnesium Oxide, and Building Gypsum
by Henggang Ji, Xiang Fan and Fan Ding
Materials 2025, 18(8), 1757; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18081757 - 11 Apr 2025
Viewed by 249
Abstract
Super sulfate cement (SSC) serves as a sustainable alternative to ordinary Portland cement, offering lower carbon emissions and superior performance. Magnesium oxide (MgO) and building gypsum (BG) were utilized as activators for granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS), and together they formed SSC, which [...] Read more.
Super sulfate cement (SSC) serves as a sustainable alternative to ordinary Portland cement, offering lower carbon emissions and superior performance. Magnesium oxide (MgO) and building gypsum (BG) were utilized as activators for granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS), and together they formed SSC, which was employed to stabilize the waste soft clay (SC). The mechanical strength development characteristics of solidified clay and the types of its hydration products were investigated through mechanical experiments, including unconfined compressive strength (UCS) tests as well as microscopic experiments, such as X-ray diffraction tests and scanning electron microscopy tests. The mass ratios of GBFS, MgO, and BG were 8:2:0 (A2) and 6:2:2 (B1), respectively; these ratios were employed to stabilize the clay, resulting in solidified clay samples designated as S-A2 and S-B1. The UCS of S-B1 increased by 36.5% to 49.3% compared to S-A2 at the curing time from 7 to 91 days. The strength residual coefficients were 34.5% and 39.1% for S-A2 and S-B1, respectively, after ten wet–dry cycles. After soaking in sodium sulfate solution, the UCS of S-A2 and S-B1 decreased by 49.1% and 29.8%, respectively, compared to the unsoaked condition. The results of microscopic tests showed that the hydration products of S-B1 mainly included needle-like calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) gel, flaky hydrothermal gel, and ettringite (AFt) crystals. BG promoted the formation of AFt, while MgO facilitated the generation of C-S-H gel. In this study, SSC was used to stabilize the waste clay, which provided a way for the application of waste SC and SSC. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alkali-Activated Binders: Properties and Applications in Construction)
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26 pages, 7271 KiB  
Article
Microstructural Evaluation and Linkage to the Engineering Properties of Metal-Ion-Contaminated Clay
by Yikun Chen, Ya Chu, Chao Yan, Wei Duan and Aimin Han
Materials 2024, 17(21), 5320; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17215320 - 31 Oct 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 689
Abstract
The rapid progress of urbanization and industrialization has led to the accumulation of large amounts of metal ions in the environment. These metal ions are adsorbed onto the negatively charged surfaces of clay particles, altering the total surface charge, double-layer thickness, and chemical [...] Read more.
The rapid progress of urbanization and industrialization has led to the accumulation of large amounts of metal ions in the environment. These metal ions are adsorbed onto the negatively charged surfaces of clay particles, altering the total surface charge, double-layer thickness, and chemical bonds between the particles, which in turn affects the interactions between them. This causes changes in the microstructure, such as particle rearrangement and pore morphology adjustments, ultimately altering the mechanical behavior of the soil and reducing its stability. This study explores the effects of four common metal ions, including monovalent alkali metal ions (Na+, K+) and divalent heavy metal ions (Pb2+, Zn2+), with a focus on how ion valence and concentration impact the soil’s microstructure and mechanical properties. Microstructural tests show that metal ion incorporation reduces particle size, increases clay content, and transforms the structure from layered to honeycomb-like. Small pores decrease while large pores dominate, reducing the specific surface area and pore volume, while the average pore size increases. Although cation exchange capacity decreases, cation adsorption density per unit surface area increases. Monovalent ions primarily disperse the soil structure, while divalent ions induce coagulation. Macro-mechanical tests reveal that metal ion contamination reduces porosity under loading, with compressibility rises as the ion concentration increases. Soils contaminated with alkali metal ions shows higher compression coefficients at all loads, while heavy metal ions cause higher compression under lower loads. Shear strength, the internal friction angle, and cohesion in metal-ion-contaminated clay decrease compared to uncontaminated field-state clay, with greater declines at higher ion concentrations. The Micropore Morphology Index and hydro-pore structural parameter effectively characterize both micro- and macrostructural properties, establishing a quantitative relationship between HPSP and the engineering properties of metal-ion-contaminated clay. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alkali-Activated Binders: Properties and Applications in Construction)
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17 pages, 6017 KiB  
Article
Properties of Cemented Filling Materials Prepared from Phosphogypsum-Steel Slag–Blast-Furnace Slag and Its Environmental Effect
by Kai Li, Lishun Zhu, Zhonghu Wu and Xiaomin Wang
Materials 2024, 17(14), 3618; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17143618 - 22 Jul 2024
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1567
Abstract
Phosphogypsum (PG) occupies a large amount of land due to its large annual production and low utilization rate, and at the same time causes serious environmental problems due to toxic impurities. PG is used for mine backfill, and industrial solid waste is a [...] Read more.
Phosphogypsum (PG) occupies a large amount of land due to its large annual production and low utilization rate, and at the same time causes serious environmental problems due to toxic impurities. PG is used for mine backfill, and industrial solid waste is a curing agent for PG, which can save the filling cost and reduce environmental pollution. In this paper, PG was used as a raw material, combined with steel slag (SS) and ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS) under the action of an alkali-activated agent (NaOH) to prepare all-solid waste phosphogypsum-based backfill material (PBM). The effect of the GGBS to SS ratio on the compressive strength and toxic leaching of PBM was investigated. The chemical composition of the raw materials was obtained by XRF analysis, and the mineral composition and morphology of PBM and its stabilization/curing mechanism against heavy metals were analyzed using XRD and SEM-EDS. The results showed that the best performance of PBM was achieved when the contents of PG, GGBS, and SS were 80%, 13%, and 7%, the liquid-to-solid ratio was 0.4, and the mass concentration of NaOH was 4%, with a strength of 2.8 MPa at 28 days. The leaching concentration of fluorine at 7 days met the standard of groundwater class IV (2 mg/L), and the leaching concentration of phosphorus was detected to be less than 0.001 mg/L, and the leaching concentration of heavy metals met the environmental standard at 14 d. The hydration concentration in PBM met the environmental standard. The hydration products in PBM are mainly ettringite and C-(A)-S-H gel, which can effectively stabilize the heavy metals in PG through chemical precipitation, physical adsorption, and encapsulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alkali-Activated Binders: Properties and Applications in Construction)
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