Nano-metakaolin-enhanced fly ash and cement-based geopolymer mortar

Abstract

The addition of Nanomaterials to Geopolymer mortar causes substantial modification in the kinetic of polymerization. The purpose of this research is to study, the effect of nano metakaolin in cement-based fly ash geopolymer mortar. The ratio of alkaline activators and molar concentration of NaOH was kept constant at 1.5 and 12M respectively, while the proportion of Portland cement and fly ash constitutes 30% and 70% of the total starting materials respectively. The replacement level of nano metakaolin was (0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% by weight of binders). Mortar mechanical and microstructural Properties were evaluated by conduct compressive strength, flexural strength, ultrasonic pulse velocity, scanning electron microscope (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. The result shows significant improvement in mechanical performance and denser morphology than the control mix. Therefore, geopolymer mortar containing 10% replacement of nano metakaolin has shown particularly good results and enhancement in various aspects of the material performance and properties, indicating its potential for wider implementation in the construction industry.