Cement and Concrete Innovation for Construction

Naturally occurring luffa sponge features a 3D fibrous network, making it deformable with a high energy absorption capacity. Here, luffa sponge is used as a reinforcement to improve impact resistance in cementitious composites, which maintain their performance across a wide temperature range.

3D printing of concrete is promising for the manufacture of bespoke structures, but the high cement component leads to large carbon dioxide emissions. Here, climate-positive biochar is shown to decrease the carbon footprint of 3D printed concrete, while improving its pumpability, extrudability, and buildability

Inspired by toughening mechanisms in the coelacanth fish scale microstructure, the authors demonstrate a bio-inspired approach to design tough double-helical architected concrete materials. Through advanced robotic additive manufacturing techniques crack resistance of concrete materials is enhanced.

The Cement market drives massive GHG emissions, spurring low-carbon material innovation. Here, authors propose a prehydration strategy to convert steel slag into high-performance cementitious material. Crucially, its carbon footprint is just 34–40% of cement’s, offering a positive climate solution.

Producing cement offers a large opportunity for CO₂ sequestration but is hindered by low CO₂ capture efficiency and high energy consumption. Here, CO₂ injection into a cement suspension results in a carbonation reaction with fast kinetics, achieving a sequestration efficiency of up to 45%.

The time-dependent effects of cement production emissions and CO₂ uptake through carbonation of hydrated cement at a global scale were quantified. The results show the climate benefits of the CO₂ uptake by cement are being significantly over-estimated.

Ordinary Portland cement is a commonly used construction material but contributes to high carbon emissions. Here, a hydration control additive can modify the kinetics of ordinary Portland cement to increase its strength, potentially reducing the amount of cement needed.

The rapid deployment of low-carbon measures is urgently needed to reduce cement emissions as cement CO₂ emissions from developing countries will almost deplete the remaining cement emissions budget within climate targets.

Replacing clinker cement production with alternative substitutes can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Here, a data-driven method is used to extract the chemical compositions of 14,000 materials from 88,000 academic papers to identify potential cementitious candidates.

Despite widely used in the construction sector, Portland cement’s high brittleness and low toughness still pose challenges in some applications. Here, authors apply an ice-templating method to fabricate a cement-hydrogel composite with alternating layered microstructure resulting in significantly increased toughness.

Here the authors combine microstructural and chemical analysis of building materials collected from an active construction site in Pompeii prior to the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. Through these analyses, they identify the  key raw materials and processes used in the production of Roman concrete.

Cement-based materials hold great potential for CO₂ sequestration. Here the authors provide atomistic insights into the impact of calcium silicate hydrates’ interfacial interactions on the optimal CO₂ adsorption capacity.

The nucleation of calcium silicate hydrate is a crucial step in cement hydration, but is still a poorly understood process. Here the authors use atomistic simulations to study primary particles and their aggregation, revealing a potential C-S-H “basic building block”.

Despite being crucial for elucidating the cement hydration mechanism, the initial hydration stage is poorly understood. Here, authors uncover the unbiased Ca dissolution pathway during the initial hydration of calcium silicates via atomistic simulations and reveal a key Ca ligand structure.

In this work, the authors use near-field ptychographic nanotomography to visualize cement hydration in situ. They report hydration features with submicrometer detail including calcium silicate dissolution rates, etch-pit growth rates and water-to-air porosity evolution.