Performance of Cement Paste Incorporating Oxidized MWCNT after Nitro-Sulfuric Acid treatment

질산 처리 후 산화된 MWCNT를 혼입한 시멘트 페이스트의 성능

Recently, the utilization of carbon nanotubes (CNT) in cement paste has been widely investigated in terms of improving the dispersion quality and enhancing the cement paste mechanical performance. While methods of functionalizing the CNT using surfactants to disperse the nanoparticles have been studied to some extent, the literature on the effects of chemical covalent functionalization is still scarce. This work focuses on chemical functionalization of multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) using acid treatment, and a consequent addition of the modified MWCNT to the cement paste. The microstructural observation and degree of the MWCNT functionalization are examined using FE-SEM. The compressive strength is measured at an age of 28 days. The results of the study suggest that the acid-functionalized MWCNT are dispersed better compared to the pristine MWCNT due to presence of functional groups. The better dispersion of the nanotubes and the attached functional groups may contribute to the refinement of the microstructure of the cement paste and hence, increase its mechanical strength.