Scientists at Rice University, Texas, USA, have decoded the kinetic properties of cement and developed a way to "program" the microscopic, semi-crystalline particles within.
The process turns particles from disordered clumps to organised cubes, spheres and other forms, making the material stronger, less porous and more durable.
The Rice lab created cubes and rectangles by adding small amounts of positive or negative ionic surfactants and calcium silicate to C-S-H and exposing the mix to CO2 and ultrasonic sound. Decreasing the calcium silicate yielded more spherical particles and smaller cubes, while increasing it formed clumped spheres and interlocking cubes.
