Effects of graphene oxide on early-age hydration and electrical resistivity of Portland cement paste

The effects of graphene oxide (GO) on the early-age hydration process and mechanical properties of Portland cement paste were experimentally investigated in this study. Based on an isothermal calorimeter measurement, the hydration rate of cement was observed to increase with the increase of GO content by nucleation effect. On the other hand, the electrical resistivity development of GO-cement paste was monitored using a non-contact electrical resistivity device. The result showed that electrical the resistivity of GO-cement paste was evidently higher than that of plain cement paste. However, cement paste with excessive amounts of GO exhibited a decreased electrical resistivity due to the massive ion diffusion caused by GO. Compared to plain cement paste, the GO-cement paste exhibited obviously higher compressive and flexural strengths, but the enhancements in compressive strength began to decline when the GO amount was greater than 0.04%. The microstructure characterization indicated that GO can apparently densify the cement pastes with less porosity and hydrates networking, which is consistent with the results of hydration acceleration and strength enhancement.