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Advances in Function Geopolymer Materials
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Advances in Function Geopolymer Materials

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2025 | Viewed by 8696

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Michał Łach

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Material Engineering and Physics, Cracow University of Technology, Jana Pawła II 37, 31-864 Cracow, Poland
Interests: geopolymer; zeolites; waste immobilization
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Patrycja Bazan

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Materials Engineering and Physics, Institute of Materials Engineering, Tadeusz Kosciuszko Cracow University of Technology, Al. Jana Pawła II 37, 31–864 Cracow, Poland
Interests: organic and inorganic polymer; composite; nanomaterial; functional material
Dr. Kinga Korniejenko

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Material Engineering, Faculty of Material Engineering and Physics, Cracow University of Technology, Jana Pawła II 37, 31-864 Cracow, Poland
Interests: geopolymer; geopolymer composites; circular economy; additive manufacturing
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Geopolymer materials classified as inorganic polymers have been known for several decades, but there is currently an increased interest in this type of material. Because geopolymer production technology is sensitive to changes in raw material prices, it is difficult for geopolymers to compete with the prices of conventional mass-produced concretes. However, there is a lot of interest in many specialized, often niche applications. One of them is, for example, thermal insulation. Geopolymer materials have a number of unique properties and are classified as functional materials. Thanks to the properly designed syntheses of these materials, it is possible to control various properties. This Special Issue will present the latest achievements and research results on geopolymers as functional materials. We invite all scientists involved in the development of advanced geopolymer binders and concretes as well as advanced geopolymer composites to submit to this issue.

This Special Issue aims to attract original contributions in topics related to advanced functions of geopolymers. We believe that this collection will summarize the current state of the art and featured trends in this field and will thus be a source of new ideas for future research.

Dr. Michał Łach
Dr. Patrycja Bazan
Dr. Kinga Korniejenko
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

  • geopolymer
  • functional material
  • modern insulation material
  • sustainable development
  • innovation in building materials

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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14 pages, 6710 KiB  
Article
Synthesis and Characterization of Novel Hybrid Wollastonite–Metakaolin-Based Geopolymers
by Mazen Alshaaer and Abdulaziz O. S. Alanazi
Materials 2024, 17(17), 4338; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17174338 - 2 Sep 2024
Viewed by 306
Abstract
Over the past few decades, researchers have focused on developing new production methods for geopolymers to improve their properties for use in multiple applications as a functional material. This study introduces a new geopolymer system based on wollastonite and metakaolin as precursors. The [...] Read more.
Over the past few decades, researchers have focused on developing new production methods for geopolymers to improve their properties for use in multiple applications as a functional material. This study introduces a new geopolymer system based on wollastonite and metakaolin as precursors. The role of wollastonite was also explored alongside metakaolin in geopolymers. Geopolymers were synthesized by adding wollastonite to metakaolin in different ratios: 0 wt.%, 12.5 wt.%, 25 wt.%, and 50 wt.%. The alkaline activator was then mixed with the powder, wollastonite, and metakaolin to prepare the geopolymers. In addition to mechanical tests, the hardened geopolymers were characterized using XRD, TGA, and SEM techniques. The findings revealed that adding wollastonite in amounts of 0 wt.%–12.5 wt.% did not affect the strength of the geopolymers. Increasing wollastonite between 25 wt.% and 50 wt.% significantly increased the geopolymers’ flexural and compressive strength from 3 MPa to 12.3 MPa and from 23 MPa to 54 MPa, respectively. The use of wollastonite as a precursor also led to fundamental changes in the microstructural structure of the geopolymer matrix: a new crystal phase, (Ca5(SiO4)2(OH)2), calciochondrodite was formed, and the Si-Al-Na crystal phase disappeared, leading to significant changes in the amorphous phase. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Function Geopolymer Materials)
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0 pages, 2791 KiB  
Article
A Study on the Shrinkage and Compressive Strength of GGBFS and Metakaolin Based Geopolymer under Different NaOH Concentrations
by Yen-Chun Chen, Wei-Hao Lee, Ta-Wui Cheng and Yeou-Fong Li
Materials 2024, 17(5), 1181; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17051181 - 3 Mar 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1035
Abstract
Geopolymers (GPs) are gaining prominence due to their low carbon emissions and sustainable attributes. However, one challenge with GPs, particularly those made with ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), is their significant shrinkage during the geopolymerization process, limiting its practical applicability. This study [...] Read more.
Geopolymers (GPs) are gaining prominence due to their low carbon emissions and sustainable attributes. However, one challenge with GPs, particularly those made with ground granulated blast furnace slag (GGBFS), is their significant shrinkage during the geopolymerization process, limiting its practical applicability. This study focuses on how the substitution ratio of metakaolin (MK) and the concentration of sodium hydroxide (NaOH) in the activator can influence the shrinkage and strength of a GGBFS-based GP. The experimental approach employed a 3 × 3 parameter matrix, which varied MK substitution ratios (0%, 50%, and 100%) and adjusted the NaOH concentration (6 M, 10 M, and 14 M). The results revealed that increasing MK substitution, particularly with 6 M NaOH activation, reduced the GP shrinkage but also diminished compressive strength, requiring higher NaOH concentrations for strength improvement. Statistical tools, including analysis of variance (ANOVA) and second-order response surface methodology (RSM), were employed for analysis. ANOVA results indicated the significant impacts of both the MK content and NaOH concentration on compressive strength, with no observable interaction. However, the shrinkage exhibited a clear interaction between MK content and NaOH concentration. The RSM model accurately predicted compressive strength and shrinkage, demonstrating a high predictive accuracy, for which the coefficients of determination (R2) were 0.99 and 0.98, respectively. The model provides a reliable method for determining the necessary compressive strength and shrinkage for GGBFS-based GP based on MK substitution and NaOH concentration. Within the optimization range, the RSM model compared with experimental results showed a 6.04% error in compressive strength and 0.77% error in shrinkage for one interpolated parameter set. This study establishes an optimized parameter range ensuring a GP performance that is comparable to or surpassing OPC, with a parameter set achieving a compressive strength of 34.9 MPa and shrinkage of 0.287% at 28 days. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Function Geopolymer Materials)
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14 pages, 6498 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Mineral Wool Fiber Additive on Several Mechanical Properties and Thermal Conductivity in Geopolymer Binder
by Beata Łaźniewska-Piekarczyk and Dominik Smyczek
Materials 2024, 17(2), 483; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma17020483 - 19 Jan 2024
Viewed by 944
Abstract
The article discusses the effect of additives of waste mineral wool fibers on geopolymer binder. This is an important study in terms of the possibility of recycling mineral wool waste. The paper describes an effective method for pulverizing the wool and the methodology [...] Read more.
The article discusses the effect of additives of waste mineral wool fibers on geopolymer binder. This is an important study in terms of the possibility of recycling mineral wool waste. The paper describes an effective method for pulverizing the wool and the methodology for forming geopolymer samples, labeled G1 for glass-wool-based geopolymer and G2 for stone-wool-based geopolymer. The compressive and flexural strengths and thermal conductivity coefficient of the geopolymer with the addition of mineral fibers were determined. The key element of the article is to verify whether the addition of mineral wool fibers positively affects the properties of the geopolymer. The results obtained prove that the addition of fibers significantly improves the flexural strength. For the G1 formulation, the ratio of compressive strength to flexural strength is 18.7%. However, for G2 samples, an even better ratio of compressive strength to flexural strength values of 26.3% was obtained. The average thermal conductivity coefficient obtained was 1.053 W/(m·K) for the G1 series samples and 0.953 W/(m·K) for the G2 series samples. The conclusions obtained show a correlation between the porosity and compressive strength and thermal conductivity coefficient. The higher the porosity, the better the thermal insulation of the material and the weaker the compressive strength. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Function Geopolymer Materials)
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13 pages, 6440 KiB  
Article
Cyclic Load Impact Assessment of Long-Term Properties in Compression to Steel and Polyvinyl Alcohol Fibre-Reinforced Geopolymer Composites
by Rihards Gailitis, Andina Sprince, Michał Łach, Pavels Gavrilovs and Leonids Pakrastins
Materials 2023, 16(18), 6128; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16186128 - 8 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 932
Abstract
This study investigates the cyclic load application impact on fly-ash-based geopolymer composites that are reinforced with a low amount of fibre reinforcement. For reinforcement purposes, polyvinyl alcohol and steel fibres are used. For testing purposes, four geopolymer composite mixes were made, three of [...] Read more.
This study investigates the cyclic load application impact on fly-ash-based geopolymer composites that are reinforced with a low amount of fibre reinforcement. For reinforcement purposes, polyvinyl alcohol and steel fibres are used. For testing purposes, four geopolymer composite mixes were made, three of which had fibre reinforcement. Simultaneously, specimens were tested for shrinkage, static-load-induced creep, and cyclic-load-induced creep. For static and cyclic creep testing, specimens were loaded with 20% of their strength. For cyclic creep testing, load application and release cycles were seven days long. When each cycle was introduced, the load was applied in steps. Necessary load application or unloading lasted for 5 min and consisted of four steps, each 25% of the necessary load. From the long-term static and cyclic creep tests, it was seen that only the plain specimens showed that static creep strains are within cyclic creep strains. For all the other specimens, the static load was higher than the cyclic-load-induced creep amplitude. Also, 1% polyvinyl alcohol fibre-reinforced specimens showed the most elastic characteristics under cyclic load, and 1% steel fibre-reinforced specimens appeared to be the most resistant to the cyclic load introduction. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Function Geopolymer Materials)
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14 pages, 5889 KiB  
Article
Investigations on Stability of Polycarboxylate Superplasticizers in Alkaline Activators for Geopolymer Binders
by Stephan Partschefeld, Adrian Tutal, Thomas Halmanseder, Jens Schneider and Andrea Osburg
Materials 2023, 16(15), 5369; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16155369 - 31 Jul 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1363
Abstract
Calcined clays are interesting starting materials to be used as SCMs (supplementary cementitious materials) in cements or to be converted to geopolymers by activation with a high alkaline activator. The adjustment of the properties in the fresh state, especially regarding the consistency of [...] Read more.
Calcined clays are interesting starting materials to be used as SCMs (supplementary cementitious materials) in cements or to be converted to geopolymers by activation with a high alkaline activator. The adjustment of the properties in the fresh state, especially regarding the consistency of these binders, is almost exclusively achieved by the addition of water, since commercially available superplasticizers seem to be ineffective in low-calcium geopolymer systems. The aim of this study was a systematic investigation of various PCE (polycarboxylate ester/ether) superplasticizers (methacrylate ester PCE: MPEG, isoprenol ether PCE: IPEG, methallyl ether PCE: HPEG) with respect to their stability in different alkaline activators (NaOH, KOH, sodium and potassium silicate solutions). The effectiveness of superplasticizers (SPs) in low-calcium geopolymer binders was verified by rheological tests. Size exclusion chromatography was used to investigate if structural degradation of the superplasticizers occurs. The investigated PCE superplasticizers showed a thickening effect in the low-calcium geopolymer system. Depending on the alkalinity of the activator solution, a degradation process was detected for all the PCEs investigated. The side chains of the PCEs are cleaved off the backbone by basic ester and ether hydrolysis. The highest degree of degradation was found in sodium and potassium silicate solutions. In alkaline hydroxide solutions, the degradation process increases with increasing alkalinity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Function Geopolymer Materials)
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Review

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24 pages, 2522 KiB  
Review
Review of Geopolymer Nanocomposites: Novel Materials for Sustainable Development
by Anna Drabczyk, Sonia Kudłacik-Kramarczyk, Kinga Korniejenko, Beata Figiela and Gabriel Furtos
Materials 2023, 16(9), 3478; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma16093478 - 29 Apr 2023
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2528
Abstract
The demand for geopolymer materials is constantly growing. This, in turn, translates into an increasing number of studies aimed at developing new approaches to the methodology of geopolymer synthesis. The range of potential applications of geopolymers can be increased by improving the properties [...] Read more.
The demand for geopolymer materials is constantly growing. This, in turn, translates into an increasing number of studies aimed at developing new approaches to the methodology of geopolymer synthesis. The range of potential applications of geopolymers can be increased by improving the properties of the components. Future directions of studies on geopolymer materials aim at developing geopolymers showing excellent mechanical properties but also demonstrating significant improvement in thermal, magnetic, or sorption characteristics. Additionally, the current efforts focus not only on the materials’ properties but also on obtaining them as a result of environment-friendly approaches performed in line with circular economy assumptions. Scientists look for smart and economical solutions such that a small amount of the modifier will translate into a significant improvement in functional properties. Thus, special attention is paid to the application of nanomaterials. This article presents selected nanoparticles incorporated into geopolymer matrices, including carbon nanotubes, graphene, nanosilica, and titanium dioxide. The review was prepared employing scientific databases, with particular attention given to studies on geopolymer nanocomposites. The purpose of this review article is to discuss geopolymer nanocomposites in the context of a sustainable development approach. Importantly, the main focus is on the influence of these nanomaterials on the physicochemical properties of geopolymer nanocomposites. Such a combination of geopolymer technology and nanotechnology seems to be promising in terms of preparation of nanocomposites with a variety of potential uses. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Function Geopolymer Materials)
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