Dispersion of Graphene Oxide in Saturated Ca(OH)2 Solution by Using Different Water-reducing Agents

Abstract

As a two-dimensional nano-material, graphene oxide (GO) has been found to be promising on improving properties of cement based materials. However, GO is prone to be agglomerated in the cement matrix. In this study, three different water reducing agents, including two polycarboxylate-based superplasticizers (PC1, PC2) and calcium lignosulfonate (CS), were used to study their effects on dispersion of GO in saturated Ca(OH)2 solution by conducting UV-vis analysis. The results showed the dispersion of GO can be largely improved when the mass ratio between PC1, PC2, CS and GO was 4:1, 4:1, 6:1, respectively. The UV absorptions increased with increase of the ultrasonication duration. When the ultrasonication was 10 minutes, CS showed better performance on the dispersion of GO. The dispersion of GO modified with PC1 can be improved by increasing the ultrasonication amplitude; while the amplitude showed little effect on the dispersion of GO modified by PC2 and CS.