Controlling cement hydration with nanoparticles

Nanoparticles have recently become a focus in the development of new accelerators for cement hydration. We have produced nanoparticles of different materials like Al₂O₃, C–S–H-phase, and quartz by different top-down and bottom-up production methods. The effect of these particles on the cement hydration was followed by heat flow calorimetry to evaluate their acceleration potential as a function of the particles material, particles size and their percentage in the cement paste. In this work we will demonstrate which particles have the best potential as accelerators for cement hydration and therefore are most suitable for further investigations. Interestingly, nanoparticles which have a retarding effect on cement hydration were also found.