Mechanical, dielectric, thermal and antibacterial properties of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-nanosized C3AH6 cement nanocomposites for smart cement-based materials

Abstract

This work aimed to fabricate nanocomposites of reduced graphene oxide (rGO)-nanosized C3AH6 cement via a rapid cement hydration for enhancing its micro-hardness, dielectric constant, thermal conductivity, electrochemical and antibacterial properties.rGO-nanosized C3AH6 nanocomposites (∼10–20 nm in diameter) with 1, 2, 3, and 4% weight of rGO, were successfully synthesized from a Ca12Al14O33 and rGO colloid that was rapidly heated with water to a temperature of 100 °C. Nanocomposites of x%rGO-C3AH6 (x = 1, 2, 3, and 4) were characterized using XRD, UV–vis spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and TGA techniques. The chemical composition was confirmed using SEM and EDX characterization. The results revealed a nanocomposited rGO-C3AH6 material with nanosheet and nanoflaked rGO, as well as nanosized C3AH6 particles. The results presented rGO-C3AH6 with high performance multifunctional properties that included enhanced mechanical, dielectric, and thermal properties. The vickers micro-hardness and dielectric constant were enhanced by the effect of rGO-C3AH6 nanocomposites. The thermal conductivity of rGO-C3AH6 was higher than that of C3AH6. The electrical conductivity and electrochemical properties were effectively increased with greater levels of rGO in the material. Its antibacterial activity was confirmed by the formation of clearing zones on a Petri plate seeded with Escherichia coli (E. coli). The diameter of these zones increased with the rGO content. These results confirmed that nanocomposited rGO-C3AH6 was effective in enhancing mechanical, dielectric and thermal properties while serving as a high performance multifunctional cement-based material.