Abstract:
The effect of the carbon black (CB) and graphene oxide (GO) on the mechanical properties
and microstructure of cement mortar composite were studied by preparing CB-cement
composite (CBCC) and GO-cement composite (GOCC) mortars. These properties were
investigated by treating the cement mortar with 0.01% to 0.1% of GO and 0.1% to 1.0% of
CB of the cement weight. The results revealed that the highest compressive strength obtained
for 0.4% of CBCC and for 0.04% of GOCC. The incorporation of CB and GO to the cement
motor simultaneously increased the compressive strength of the samples drastically. The
highest increase of the compressive strength was equal to 43.27% for specimens evaluated at
the age of 2 days for the cement composite specimens of 0.4% CB and 0.03% of GO. The
addition of 0.4% of CB increased the flexural strength of cement motor up to 53.54% and
0.03% of GO increased the flexural strength of cement motor up to 46.54% for 28 days. The
addition of the combination of 0.3% CB and 0.04% GO to the cement composite enhanced
the flexural strength by 60.61%. GO was found to be able to accelerate the hydration process
by forming the flower-like cement hydration crystals which contribute to the enhancement of
the early mechanical properties. The analysis of the microstructure relieved that the addition
of CB provides the filling effect while GO could affect the growth form of cement hydration
products.
