J. Am. Ceram. Soc.
, 97 [4] 997–1008 (2014)
Journal
Durability of Alkali-Activated Materials: Progress and Perspectives
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield S1 3JD, South Yorkshire, UK
In the last decade, there has been rapid growth in interest in
alternative binders, as part of the toolkit of cement technolo-
gies needed to mitigate the carbon footprint associated with the
construction industry. Alkali-activated materials (AAMs),
including geopolymer binders and other related systems, have
been identified as a key component of this move to lower CO2
cements and concretes. These are clinker-free cements which
can exhibit comparable performance to conventional portland/
blended cements, when they are adequately formulated and
cured. However, AAMs have a somewhat limited record of
durability in service, and this is one of the main limitations fac-
ing their commercial adoption at present. To provide the best
possible answers to the question of long-term durability within
an experimentally accessible timeframe, standardized acceler-
ated degradation testing methods have been widely adopted, in
an attempt to simulate natural processes. It has been identified
that the interactions between material and environment, which
take place on microstructural and nanostructural levels, have a
very significant influence on the outcomes of the durability
tests. Here, we present an overview of the results obtained
when AAMs are exposed to aggressive testing conditions such
as elevated concentrations of CO2, sulfates or chlorides. The
key outcome of this article is a broader synthesis of the avail-
able data regarding the interactions between these new materi-
als and their surrounding environment, which is then available
to be used in the design, development, and implementation of
environmentally sustainable, high-performance cements and
concretes for the 21st century.
I. Introduction
T HE development of lower CO2 materials which can be
used instead of pure portland cement in high-volume
applications is an area of intense research interest at present,
both with regard to blended cements containing a small
amount of portland cement (or clinker) and a high or major-
ity content of supplementary materials, and in the area of
non-portland cements.1–3 Among these various types of bind-
ers, one that has attracted particular attention is the class of
D. J. Green—contributing editor
Manuscript No. 34049. Received October 30, 2013; approved December 29, 2013.
†
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. e-mail: j.provis@sheffield.
ac.uk
DOI: 10.1111/jace.12831
© 2014 The American Ceramic Society
Susan A. Bernal and John L. Provis†
materials known as alkali-activated binders, or “geopoly-
mers,” which have been seen to potentially offer an attractive
combination of good mechanical strength in the hardened
state, good durability in service, a reduced environmental
footprint, and acceptable early-age rheology,4,5 if adequate
formulation and curing conditions are adopted.
These materials are produced by the reaction between an
alkali source, often (but not necessarily) supplied as a liquid,
and a solid aluminosilicate precursor. The most commonly
used precursors are also the materials which show good poz-
zolanic activity when blended with portland cement: blast-
furnace slag, fly ash from pulverized coal combustion, and
calcined kaolinite-group clays. These precursors (which will
be simply referred to as slag, fly ash, and metakaolin, respec-
tively, through the remainder of this article) all contain reac-
tive Al and Si, and all dissolve under alkaline conditions to
release these components at a rate which is suitable for the
formation of a cement-like binder, and the components then
rearrange through solution to form a strong dense binding
gel.6
In a technical sense, the formation of a dense and strong
binding gel is what is needed in the production of mortars
and concretes, and there are many types of alternative bind-
ers which undergo setting and hardening reaction processes
at comparable rates to portland cement, and provide a
broadly similar rate of strength development.3 However,
there are some limitations currently facing the adoption of
these alternative materials, such as the need for development
of a fuller characterization of their performance under differ-
ent physicomechanical and chemical conditions. This charac-
terization is essential if practitioners are to ensure that
alternative materials can be fit-for-purpose in designated
applications, as strength development is not the only impor-
tant criterion when selecting a material for use in a specific
application. Also, many non-portland binders are either
much more expensive to produce, or require the use of
resources or components which are not widespread world-
wide. This is less of an issue for alkali-activated binder sys-
tems, as the worldwide availability of reactive aluminosilicate
materials (slag, fly ash, clays, natural pozzolans, and some
others) is in general high, the chemistry of this class of mate-
rials is sufficiently flexible that an activator can be selected
and tailored to match the precursors available, and the acti-
vators themselves are generally derived from existing high-
volume industrial processes (e.g., the chlor-alkali process for
NaOH, and the Solvay process or trona mining for Na2CO3,
which can either be used directly as an activator in some
Feature
998 Journal of the American Ceramic Society—Bernal and Provis Vol. 97, No. 4

&
Sidebar: “A rose by any other name…”

One of the issues which is particularly troublesome in the research community investigating alkali-activated binders is the prolif-
eration of different names which are applied to essentially the same material. These names include, but are not limited to:
“alkali-bonded ceramic,” “alkali ash material,” “F-concrete,” “geocement,” “geopolymer,” “hydroceramic,” “inorganic polymer,”
“inorganic polymer glass,” “mineral polymer,” “SKJ binder,” “soil cement,” “soil silicate,” “zeocement,” “zeoceramic,” and a
variety of other names including various commercial trademarks. This scattering of terminology leads to confusion in the scien-
tific and technical communities, and means that it is unnecessarily difficult to identify relevant information in the scientific litera-
ture via simple searches. While there is no simple solution to this situation, this article will follow the recommendations of the
RILEM (R
eunion Internationale des Laboratoires et Experts des Mat
eriaux, systemes de construction et ouvrages) Technical
Committee 224-AAM (Alkali Activated Materials), in naming each system explicitly according to the components it contains.
This has the disadvantage of leading to some long names, particularly for materials such as sodium metasilicate-activated slag-fly
ash blends (which will be discussed in detail in the latter part of the article), but does offer clarity among the sometimes-confus-
ing selection of terminology which is on offer in this field. The term “geopolymer” will be used specifically to refer to the almost
fully cross-linked low-calcium alkali aluminosilicate gel which is present in many alkali-activated binders, as distinct from the
chain-type calcium silicate hydrate (C–S–H) type gel, which is formed in binders with higher calcium content.
So, to answer the question to which the title of this Sidebar alludes—a rose by any other name does smell just as sweet, but
in this instance, the smell is less essential than the ease of identification which comes from the use of more direct terminology.

systems, or thermally combined with silica to form sodium
silicate).4
Therefore, the family of alkali-activated binder systems
can be seen to generally meet the two main criteria required
for a high-volume portland cement alternative: (1) these
materials can be produced in many parts of the world, from
a wide range of feedstocks, and (2) the technical properties
of the materials, in both fresh and hardened states, are suffi-
ciently comparable to those of portland cement that they can
be considered a like-for-like substitute in suitable applica-
tions, enabling material placement and finishing using the
existing skills of trained concrete workers.5
It is also noted that it is extremely unlikely that alkali-acti-
vated binders will be a suitable replacement for portland
cement across the full range of applications in which this
material is used worldwide—and the globally achievable pro-
duction volumes of alkali-activated materials (AAMs) would
be far too low to meet such demand in any case. Instead, a
toolkit-type approach is needed, where each type of cement-
ing material (including portland cement, alkali-activated
binders, and many others) will be used in the applications to
which it is best suited.
With this in mind, it therefore becomes essential to under-
stand and predict the gel chemistry and durability properties
of alkali-activated binders, because it is only with such
understanding that the optimal fit-for-purpose mixes and
applications can be identified, and the material put into use
appropriately. This article will, therefore, present a brief dis-
cussion of the key aspects which control the gel chemistry of
alkali-activated binders on both nanostructural and micro-
structural levels, leading to a discussion of the influence of
some of these parameters on the durability of the materials
when exposed to three commonly studied types of chemically
aggressive environment: carbonation, sulfate, and chloride. It
is noted that predominantly physical modes of degradation
are not covered in this review; the reader is referred instead
to the relevant chapter of the State-of-the-Art Report of
RILEM TC 224-AAM7 for detailed discussion in this area.
along with a low concentration of Q3 sites in chain-bridging
roles in some systems depending on the concentrations of Ca
and Al.8–11 Binders containing much less calcium than this
(usually <10% on a mass basis in the precursor), derived
from the alkali-activation of fly ashes and/or metakaolin, are
dominated by a Q4-structured alkali aluminosilicate gel,12–16
often described as a geopolymer gel.14,17 Binders containing
an intermediate level of calcium (alkali-activated slag/fly ash,
slag/metakaolin blends, and some sole precursor materials4)
are much more complex in chemistry, with descriptions of
the gel ranging from a single-phase C–N–A–S–H gel to a
fully phase-separated assemblage of C–A–S–H and geopoly-
mer-type gels, along with secondary phases.4,11,18–23 Fig. 1
shows an example of the gel compositions which have been
observed by scanning electron microscopy–energy diffractive
X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDX) analysis18 of a binder syn-
thesized by sodium metasilicate activation of slag, fly ash
(containing less than 0.5 wt% CaO by XRF analysis), and a
1:1 mixture of the two. Several distinct regions of gel compo-
sition are observable, both in the fly ash-only binder and in
the blended system. The SEM–EDX spot analyses were
conducted at points which were visually identifiable as corre-
sponding to the binder gel rather than unreacted precursor

II. Gel Chemistry in Alkali-Activated Binders

(1) One, Two, or Many?
In general, alkali-activated binders can be divided into two
main classes, according to the calcium content of the binder
systems. Binders derived from the alkali-activation of slags
with a Ca/(Al + Si) ratio similar to one are generally domi- Fig. 1. Pseudo-ternary plot of alkali-activated binder gel
nated by a C–S–H type gel (normally described as C–A–S–H compositions, measured by SEM–EDX after 28 d of curing. Binders
to reflect its high Al concentration compared to the low-Al are synthesized by sodium metasilicate activation of fly ash (FA),
gels formed through portland cement hydration processes), slag (BFS), and a 1:1 mixture of these two precursors. Data from
with silicate chains comprising Q1 and Q2 environments, Ref. [18].
April 2014 Durability of Alkali‐Activated Materials
particles, although it is almost impossible to exclude the
possibility that some buried unreacted particles were included
in the probe volume.24
The exact details of the chemistry in this compositional
region are still the subject of active research, enabled by
rapid developments in analytical capabilities, and are to a
significant extent also controlled by the nature (and particu-
larly the pH) of the activator selected, where a very high pH
leads to precipitation of the calcium as Ca(OH)2, either as
discrete crystallites or as amorphous/nanoscale particu-
lates,25,26 rather than having it incorporated into gels as is
the case at a more moderate pH.
This possibility for coexistence of multiple gels leads to
scope for tailoring of some potentially interesting chemical
and physical properties in binder systems produced from
blended precursors. For example, Lecomte et al.27 found that
the fine slag particles present in alkali-activated blends of
slag and metakaolin were the main source of the chemical
species involved in initial hardening and development of
early strength, and identified both highly cross-linked
(Q4(nAl)) and undercoordinated chain-type (Q1 and Q2) Si
sites in alkali-activated binders with a 2:1 ratio of slag to me-
takaolin. Zhang et al.28 identified an optimum in strength at
a 1:1 ratio of slag to metakaolin, while Bernal et al.29 found
that the optimal slag/metakaolin ratio for strength develop-
ment increased with increasing activator modulus. The resid-
ual strength of blended alkali-activated slag-metakaolin
samples after heating to 1000°C is also better than that of
solely slag-based materials,30,31 as the thermally induced
shrinkage and cracking processes are less destructive in the
blended systems due to the influence of the additional Si and
Al supplied by the metakaolin.
The physicochemical influences of gel coexistence can be
observed in analysis of the transport properties of the mate-
rial as a whole, where the two types of gel will each preferen-
tially interact with different dissolved species, which will be
discussed in detail below in the context of analysis of chlo-
ride ingress into these materials. There are also important
differences in space-filling properties between the C–A–S–H
gel, which has high bound-water content, and the geopoly-
mer-type gel which does not chemically bind water. These
differences become evident when the materials are analyzed
by thermogravimetry30,32 (Fig. 2), or when porosity is deter-
mined either by laboratory testing33 or by X-ray microto-
mography.34 It is becoming increasingly clear that there is a
tipping point, close to a 1:1 ratio of slag to Ca-free precursor
Fig. 2. Differential thermograms for alkali silicate-activated blended
binders based on blends of granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS) and
metakaolin, with the low-temperature region expanded (inset) to
highlight the distinct signals which are attributable to the two types
of gel present in the materials as a function of slag/metakaolin ratio.
Successive data sets are offset by 0.07%/°C for display. Data from
Ref. [30].
999
(metakaolin in Ref. [30] or fly ash in Ref. [34]) where the
material changes from being predominantly C–A–S–H in
character at higher slag content, with a pore volume that
decreasing with increasing binder maturity, to being predomi-
nantly geopolymer-like at low Ca content. In such systems,
the pore structure becomes much more refined as the mate-
rial becomes more mature, but the overall porosity does not
change much as a function of time.
(2) Heterogeneity–Gel Chemistry as a Function of Time
and Space
The spatial aspect associated with gel chemistry in alkali-acti-
vated binder systems is clearly essential in determining the
final binder structure and properties. These materials are
highly spatially heterogeneous,35 particularly when precursors
such as fly ash, containing a distribution of particle size,
chemistry, and mineralogy,24,26,36–39 are themselves contribut-
ing to the heterogeneity on a length scale of micrometers or
more. The various rates of reactions taking place at particle
surfaces, in the free solution volume, and in different loca-
tions within the hardened binder, can leave signature features
in the hardened microstructure in terms of chemical composi-
tion and morphology. Thus, the ability to identify these fea-
tures in the microstructure of the binders using both in situ40
and ex situ13,24,41 microscopic analysis, as well as tomogra-
phy on varying length scales,34,42 can provide insight into the
reaction processes, which led to their formation.
The use of fly ash as a component of cementitious binders
is not new; fly ashes have been blended with portland cement
in concretes since the 1930s,43 including extensive use in cur-
rent practice (either as blended cements or blended concretes)
in some parts of the world. High-volume fly ash concretes,
where portland cement is blended with more than 50% fly
ash, are finding more widespread application as their specific
workability and curing requirements are beginning to be bet-
ter understood,44 and “hybrid” alkali-portland-fly ash bind-
ers have also been described recently.45 However, the specific
case of alkaline activation in the absence of clinker necessi-
tates a much fuller understanding of fly ash glass chemistry,
as this precursor becomes the only source of reactive compo-
nents for binder formation.
In understanding the formation and structure of an alkali-
activated binder, it is thus essential to understand the reac-
tion mechanism by which the solid precursor is converted to
the final binder structure. In the case of fly ash, the reaction
mechanisms involved in its conversion into a monolithic
alkali-activated gel are complex and not yet well understood.
This issue is complicated further by the fact that fly ashes
vary dramatically between sources, and as a function of time
even when sourced from a single electricity generation facil-
ity. A brief discussion of fly ash chemistry, and its relation-
ship to the mechanical and durability performance of the
alkali-activated products, is thus important here.
A microstructural-scale conceptual model for NaOH acti-
vation of fly ash was presented by Fern
andez-Jim
enez et al.46
whereby the attack of the hydroxide on the glassy shell of a
partially hollow spherical fly ash particle leads to the forma-
tion of reaction products both outside and inside the ash
particle, leading to a final microstructure which contains
embedded fly ash particles with varying degrees of reaction.
This range of reactivities is evident in Fig. 3, where the dif-
ferent types of particles highlighted by colored circles have
visibly reacted to different extents, and contributed in differ-
ent ways to the development of the gel network, which has
filled the interparticle region. It is also notable from Fig. 3
that there are no distinct “outer product” and “inner prod-
uct” regions in this material, and this is common to the
majority of well-cured silicate-activated fly ash binders.
Since the work of Fern
andez-Jim
enez et al.46 was pub-
lished, other workers24,41,47,48 have expanded the understand-
ing of various aspects of the reaction model, in particular
1000 Journal of the American Ceramic Society—Bernal and Provis
Fig. 3. SEM image of a polished section of a fly ash geopolymer,
with different fly ash particle types circled in different colors. Red:
iron-rich particles; yellow: reactive glass particles surrounded by a
reaction rim; blue: hollow particles whose shell was not broken
during the reaction process; pink: relatively unreactive glass particles
with no visible reaction rim; green: glass particles containing visible
crystalline inclusions. Image courtesy E. D. Rodr
ıguez.
discussing the importance of gel nucleation, which can take
place either on, or away from, the particle surfaces, depend-
ing on the silica content of the activator23,40 and the provi-
sion of additional nucleation seeding sites in the form of
added nanoparticles.49,50 The question of when and where
nucleation takes place, and particularly whether the nucle-
ated gel particles grow outwards from the particle surfaces
and thus block the possibility of further reaction, is critical
in determining the final extent of reaction which is achieved.
Turning to the higher-calcium end of the spectrum of
AAMs, the structural development of binders based on alkali-
activated slag is also a significantly heterogeneous reaction
process, even though the precursor itself is much more homo-
geneous on both interparticle and intraparticle levels. In this
case, the heterogeneity is most important on the nanoscale,
where the chemical constraints on C–A–S–H gel compositions
introduce the formation of a wide range of secondary prod-
ucts, often enriched in Al (layered double hydroxides and/or
zeolites),8,9,51,52 and also containing the majority of the Mg
which is supplied by the slag, as this is largely excluded from
the tobermorite-like C–A–S–H structure. The reaction process
is governed by a four-step mechanism: dissolution of the
glassy precursor particles, nucleation and growth of the initial
solid phases, interactions and mechanical binding at the
boundaries of the phases formed (which leads to setting of the
paste), and ongoing reaction via dynamic chemical equilibria
and diffusion of reactive species through the reaction products
formed at advanced times of curing.
In these slag-rich systems, there are often microstructurally
distinct inner product and outer product regions correspond-
ing to the areas initially occupied by slag particles or by the
solution, respectively. This is particularly evident in silicate-
activated binders,53 while it has been noted that in some
hydroxide-activated systems, the inner product and outer
product regions of the gel tend to have similar composi-
tions.54 In a silicate-activated system, the outer product forms
rapidly, driven by the high concentrations of silica in the ini-
tially fluid-filled regions, which thus become supersaturated
with respect to C–S–H type phases at a relatively low concen-
tration of Ca.55,56 This means that the outer product regions
can show a lower Ca/Si ratio than the inner product regions.
The pore structure of alkali-silicate-activated slag binders
has been reported to be either very impermeable or rather
open, depending on the mix design, curing conditions and
specimen maturity, where obviously an immature specimen
has a more open pore network. This is controlled by the
reaction mechanism. Thermal curing is not always effective
Vol. 97, No. 4
in enhancing the reaction of alkali-activated slag binders,
unlike the situation for fly ash-based materials, due to prob-
lems associated with drying. An increasing activator dose in
an alkali-activated slag binder generally leads to a more
refined pore network,57 similar to the situation for fly ash-
based binders,58 although the optimal silicate modulus for
generation of a dense structure in these binders is often
higher than the values which have been identified for binders
based on metakaolin or fly ash.29,59–62
III. Pore Solution Chemistry, and its Importance at Early
and Later Ages
One of the key developments in the chemistry of portland
cement-based concretes in the past decades has been the
enormous advancement which has been made in the design
and use of organic admixtures to influence concrete proper-
ties in both the fresh and hardened state. This enables the
use of the advanced construction techniques, which are criti-
cal to the utilization of modern concretes in advanced infra-
structure applications such as ultra-high-rise buildings.
However, because the additives which are now commercially
available have been specifically tailored to be compatible
with the chemistry of portland cement, their use in alkali-
activated binders tends to be much less effective.4,63–65 The
surface charging behavior of the precursor particles in a fresh
alkali-activated binder mix is very different from the surface
charge on portland cement particles, which means that dis-
persant-type molecules would require quite different chemis-
try to act effectively, and the aqueous solution environment
in an alkali-activated binder is much higher in both pH and
overall dissolved ion concentrations. The high degree of vari-
ability in physical properties and chemical composition of
the precursors used in producing alkali-activated binders rep-
resents another important challenge in the development of
organic admixtures for these systems, as the interaction of
these compounds and the particle surfaces can be strongly
influenced by the nature and source of a specific precursor.
This means that a good deal of further development will be
required to place alkali-activated concretes on a more equal
footing with portland cement concretes, particularly for the
production of premixed concretes. In fact, it will probably be
necessary to specifically design a new suite of organic addi-
tives which are stable in the highly alkaline pore solution
environment of AAMs, and which are compatible with the
surface chemistry (charge and functionality) of the alumino-
silicate precursors used in AAMs, to achieve the desired rhe-
ology modification in these binder systems.64–68 Initial steps
in this direction have been made in recent years, but there is
still much development work required to make this into a
commercial-scale reality.
Considering now the material in its hardened state, the
aqueous environment prevailing within the pore solution is
also critical in terms of durability. In any concrete which is
reinforced with mild steel, it is essential that the pore solu-
tion pH is sufficiently high (above approximately pH 10–12)
to passivate the embedded steel reinforcing bars,69 and that
this condition is maintained throughout the service life of the
material. Given the initially very high pH of all alkali
hydroxide-activated and silicate-activated binder systems,
which can often exceed 13.5 and may be as high as 14.5 in
some hydroxide-activated binders, it may appear that this
should be straightforward to achieve. However, the fact that
the phase assemblage of a hardened alkali-activated binder
does not include a pH-buffering solid hydroxide phase, such
as portlandite among portland cement hydrates, means that
the ability to maintain high alkalinity is contingent on
preventing either the ingress of acidic components (particu-
larly H+ or CO2) from the external environment, or the
leaching of mobile alkalis from the pore solution.70 It is also
important to note that Huet et al.69 evaluating the transition
of steel rebars from a passive to an active state in polluted
April 2014 Durability of Alkali‐Activated Materials
simulated pore solutions, have identified buffering effects due
to carbonate species in the system, and, therefore, it is not
ideal to consider the pH as the sole criterion to study this
phenomenon. This means that the pore structure (porosity
and tortuosity) of an alkali-activated binder, coupled with
key chemical considerations, is likely to be the key factor
which determines its durability in a reinforced concrete appli-
cation.5 These two factors are therefore the focus of the sub-
sequent sections.
IV. Durability of Alkali-Activated Binders—Testing and
Key Parameters
(1) Curing, and Why it is Important to be Kind to Your
Concrete
Related to the issue of pore structure refinement and/or pore
filling, as mentioned above in the context of binder reaction
mechanisms, is the need to select appropriate curing condi-
tions for an alkali-activated binder. It is often stated that
low-calcium geopolymer-type binders require elevated-
temperature curing for satisfactory strength or microstruc-
tural development, and this has been considered by some to
place restrictions on the industrial-scale applicability of this
technology. However, it has been demonstrated, both in the
laboratory and in the field,5 that ambient-temperature or
near-ambient curing of these materials can provide very good
results in terms of strength development (as high as 60 MPa
after 28 d at 23°C, and up to 100 MPa at 180 d, for 50-mm
mortar cubes71). However, this does require control of three
key parameters:
1. the mix designs must be formulated to enable a low
water/binder ratio, otherwise setting and strength
development will be delayed;
2. the activator concentration and composition must be
tailored to match the chemistry of the precursor, to
prevent either slow reaction due to insufficient alkali
dosage, or efflorescence if there are too many mobile
alkalis in the final product; and
3. curing must be conducted under sealed conditions to
prevent drying or microcracking.
These binders are also somewhat prone to suffer micro-
cracking under the aggressive drying conditions used in many
standardized durability testing methods, meaning that their
potentially good in-service performance is not always well
represented by the results of standardized laboratory
tests.4,18,32 A somewhat obvious, yet too-often neglected,
comment which must be made here is that in-service perfor-
mance is far more important than accelerated laboratory test
results in proving the actual value of a material. However, it
is equally true that poor laboratory test outcomes will in all
likelihood prevent any application of the material in service,
and the most important parameter in ensuring that a mate-
rial performs well in the laboratory is to develop a well-
cured, good-quality specimen for analysis.
This then requires careful specification and control of a
laboratory curing environment to enable the material to
develop sufficient maturity prior to service or testing. This is
critical in the context of materials testing for performance
validation, where the standard curing conditions which are
used for portland cement-based materials (particularly lime-
water curing) are unlikely to give adequate binder maturity
in alkali-activated systems due to the likelihood of leaching
of the alkalis from the pore solution if they are cured from
early age immersed in any aqueous environment which is not
highly enriched in alkalis. Internal curing has also been
shown to be useful in mitigating microcracking in alkali-acti-
vated slags.72 It may also be that the usual 28-d curing per-
iod, which is often defined as giving “final” strength is not
sufficient for alkali-activated binders based on less-reactive
precursors,4 as has also been widely identified for high-
volume blended portland cements.
1001
This then leaves a variety of open questions regarding the
correct application of standardized testing procedures in the
analysis of AAMs, particularly where the testing standards
specify the curing and preconditioning regimes to be applied to
the material. It has been noted that in some instances the tests
can be fairly straightforwardly modified (e.g., by changing the
details of curing environments or the temperature of a precon-
ditioning step) to give results which are then more logical and
valuable in predicting in-service performance,4,33 and an
international technical committee (RILEM TC 247-DTA,
http://www.rilem.org/gene/main.php?base=8750&gp_id=290)
is now examining this issue in detail across a range of different
durability testing methods. It is hoped that this will lead
toward an improved understanding of how exactly these mate-
rials should be tested in a laboratory context to enable accu-
rate and reliable prediction of in-service performance.
From this background, three specific areas of durability
will be discussed in the following sections: resistance to car-
bonation, resistance to external sulfate attack, and resistance
to chloride ingress.
(2) Carbonation
Durability of hydraulic cement products is broadly defined
as the ability of the material to resist weathering action,
chemical attack, abrasion or any process of deterioration.73
Specifically, weathering and chemical attack are often com-
bined in a degradation process referred to as carbonation. In
conventional portland cement, carbonation is understood as
the chemical reaction taking place between the carbonic acid
formed through the dissociation, in the pore solution, of the
CO2 that diffuses into the material from the external atmo-
sphere, and the hydration products of the binder, producing
carbonate deposits within the binder itself.74 This mechanism
of deterioration leads to a significant decrease in the pH of
the system, sometimes accompanied by reduction in mechani-
cal strength, along with an increase in the total porosity.
These combined physicochemical changes in the cement
mean that the metallic component in reinforced concretes
becomes very prone to suffer corrosion, which can lead to
the eventual failure of the material.75
Carbonation is controlled by both diffusional and chemi-
cal mechanisms, and is influenced by the relative humidity in
the material, the concentration of CO2 in the surrounding
atmosphere, and the tortuosity of the pore network, along
with the chemistry of the binding phases and the pore solu-
tion environment within a specific binder. In AAMs, the
mechanism of carbonation is strongly dependent on the type
of precursor used in producing these binders (slag or fly
ash)11 and the nature and concentration of the activator
used,76,77 as these parameters control the type of the reaction
products formed. It has also been identified that the MgO
content of the slag precursor has a significant influence on
both the mechanism and rate of carbonation of AAMs.78
This is associated with the formation of layered double
hydroxides with a hydrotalcite type structure as a secondary
reaction product, when using slags with higher MgO con-
tents. Layered double hydroxides have the capacity to absorb
CO2, and the formation of these Al-rich secondary phases in
silicate-activated slag binders also reduces the degree of Al
incorporation in the C–A–S–H type gel. These combined
effects seem to enhance the resistance to carbonation of
alkali-activated slag binders.78
It has also been noted that design parameters of the con-
crete, such as the content of binder,79 can influence the rate
of carbonation in AAMs. This means that adequate formulation
and selection of precursors, aiming to reduce the permeability,
can strongly reduce the likelihood of performance loss associ-
ated with this degradation mechanism.
Carbonation is generally a relatively slow process under
environmental conditions due to the low CO2 concentrations
in the atmosphere (~0.04%).76 So, to predict the performance
1002 Journal of the American Ceramic Society—Bernal and Provis
of specific binders against this mode of degradation within an
experimentally accessible timescale, accelerated carbonation
testing methods have been adopted, using environmental
chambers with high CO2 concentrations, where the materials
are exposed to controlled conditions and the ingress of the
carbonation front into the material is monitored over a speci-
fied period of time. Accelerated carbonation testing methodol-
ogies have mostly not been validated in detail by comparison
to natural carbonation of comparable samples, and there is
still ongoing discussion regarding the most applicable testing
protocols and conditions,80 with no testing methodology or
conditions being universally preferred.
Consequently, the relationship between accelerated car-
bonation rates and in-service carbonation rates in alkali-acti-
vated concretes, which is essential in any attempt to use the
results of accelerated carbonation testing to calculate cover
depths required for a given service life, is largely unknown.
Most calculations conducted in this area use a simple diffu-
sion-controlled model (t1/2 functional form) to extrapolate
accelerated testing data to service conditions, without consid-
eration of any possible chemical effects associated with
changing the CO2 concentration by a factor of 100 or more.
Under accelerated carbonation testing conditions, a higher
susceptibility to carbonation has been identified in alkali-acti-
vated slag compared to portland cements,77,79,81,82 which is
attributed to the absence of portlandite as a reaction product
in these systems, the low Ca/Si ratio of the binding gel, and
the high alkali content of the pore solution. All of these fac-
tors are stated to couple to increase the risk of carbonation
through the decalcification of C–A–S–H type gels to form
calcium carbonate. Consistent with this, Fig. 4 shows the
change in the microstructure of an alkali-activated slag paste
which has been subjected to accelerated carbonation. The
carbonated material is evidently highly porous and less dense
compared with the initial conditions before CO2 exposure.
However, it is important to note that these observations
differ from the trends reported in specimens evaluated after
several decades of service life, where natural carbonation
(a)
(b)
Fig. 4. Scanning electron micrograph (a) and backscattered electron
image (b) of a silicate-activated blast-furnace slag binder before (a)
and after (b) exposure to 1% CO2 for 1000 h.
Vol. 97, No. 4
rates of less than 1 mm/yr are identified,61,83 which is compa-
rable to what can be expected for reasonably good-quality
portland cement-based materials exposed under the same
conditions. Evaluation of 7-yr old naturally carbonated sili-
cate-activated slag concretes84 shows that the water content
in the concrete mix has little influence on the carbonation
rate at advanced age. Some of the concretes evaluated (for-
mulated with 500 kg/m3 of slag) showed carbonation depths
of 1.7 mm after 7 yr, which is low compared with normal-
strength portland cement concretes, where carbonation
depths between 2 and 10 mm are reported after 1 yr of natu-
ral exposure.85 A backscattered electron image and corre-
sponding elemental maps of a 7-yr old naturally carbonated
alkali-activated slag concrete are shown in Fig. 5. The areas
enriched in Si, Al, and Na, with little content of Ca, are a
zeolite type phase, most likely garronite/heulandite, as identi-
fied via X-ray diffraction.84 Regions enriched in Ca (light
gray in the BSE image) are unreacted slag particles, and the
gray areas enriched in Ca, Si, and Al correspond to the bind-
ing gel. Darker gray areas in the BSE image enriched in C
and O are assigned to carbonated regions. These results pro-
vide evidence that in naturally carbonated slag activated con-
cretes, the carbonated and noncarbonated regions are highly
intermixed, and neither a distinctive carbonation front, nor
substantial destruction of the material, is taking place
(Fig. 5). This is very different from the situation for acceler-
ated carbonated specimens (Fig. 4).
The discrepancies between natural and accelerated carbon-
ation results in AAMs are associated with the differences in
exposure conditions other than CO2 concentration, as for
instance controlled accelerated carbonation cannot simulate
the dry/wet cycles to which the materials are subjected in ser-
vice. The effects of the growing maturity of the binding
phases during an extended service life are also important.
Under service conditions, the alkali activation reaction will
continue to take place as long as the pore solution alkalinity
remains high, and gel densification and pore network tortu-
osity will increase over time. This cannot be captured by lab-
oratory testing after 28 d of curing when a material is
designed for a life span of 50 yr, as the microstructures of
the two materials will be completely different. A recent study
has also demonstrated that the pore solution chemistry in
alkali-activated binders, which is dominated by alkali
hydroxides,55,70,86,87 plays a significant role in how the car-
bonation of these binders proceeds depending on the expo-
sure conditions. The chemistry of the pore solution of a
carbonated alkali-activated binder can be approximated by
the system Na2CO3–NaHCO3–H2O, where even slight incre-
ments in the CO2 concentration above natural conditions (as
little as 0.2%) favor the formation of nahcolite (NaHCO3)
and trona (Na2CO3
NaHCO3
2H2O), instead of natron
(Na2CO3
10H2O), which is the stable product at room tem-
perature and ambient CO2 concentration.88,89 In alkali-acti-
vated binders, the formation of natron has been observed
when the material has been exposed to atmospheric CO2,
while in specimens exposed to 1% CO2 or higher, formation
of nahcolite prevails.11,89,90 These differences are observed in
binders derived from both fly ash and slag precursors.
Natron has a greater molecular volume than nahcolite, and
it is likely that the relative extent of formation of each of
these phases has an impact on the permeability of the system,
as the formation of more space-filling phases such as natron
can contribute positively to pore blockage and reduction in
CO2 ingress. The modification in the carbonate/bicarbonate
phase equilibrium under accelerated carbonation conditions
also leads to a substantial reduction in the pH in accelerated
carbonated samples, which is unlikely to occur under natural
carbonation conditions.89
The formation of sodium carbonate heptahydrate
(Na2CO3
7H2O) has been observed in 1-d cured fly ash-based
binders carbonated at 5% CO2. This indicates that the initial
carbonation in these systems leads to the formation of an
April 2014 Durability of Alkali‐Activated Materials
Fig. 5. Backscattered electron image and elemental maps (environmental SEM, uncoated polished sample) of a near-surface section of aged
silicate-activated slag concrete which has been subjected to natural carbonation exposure for 7 yr (images courtesy of R. San Nicolas).
internal CO2 concentration gradient (i.e., mass transport of
CO2 is more rapid than the chemical reaction which causes its
precipitation as a solid phase), which means that the carbon-
ation front becomes broadened, before a high CO2 concentra-
tion is later able to diffuse through the pore network to
permeate the binder. The N–A–S–H type geopolymer gel
forming in these fly ash-based binders is more porous than
the C–A–S–H phases forming in alkali-activated binders, as
identified by X-ray microtomography,34 and discussed in Sec-
tion III. Less chemical disruption of the N–A–S–H gel struc-
ture has been observed in fly ash-based binders when exposed
to high CO2 concentrations than is observed in C–A–S–H-
based binders11; however, it is sometimes noted that acceler-
ated carbonated Ca-free AAMs can lose their mechanical
strength, and some can even be crumbled by hand after expo-
sure to elevated CO2 concentrations. This indicates that car-
bonation in Ca-free activated binders is not limited to the
pore solution, as modification in the role of the alkalis which
were initially associated with the binding gels to charge bal-
ance Al seems to be occurring in the presence of high levels of
CO2. Further work in this area is required to determine the
details of the mechanisms taking place.
However, all of these comparisons and unexpected behav-
iors under accelerated carbonation, and particularly the fac-
tors of binder maturity and exposure conditions, combine to
indicate that accelerated laboratory testing is severely overes-
timating the real impact that carbonation will have on the
pore solution chemistry, binder phase evolution and electro-
chemistry of AAMs.
(3) Sulfate Exposure
There is as yet a relatively limited understanding of the effect
of sulfate exposure on the durability of AAMs. Immersion of
1003
alkali-activated slag binders in sodium sulfate solutions
according to protocols similar to those used to investigate
portland cement-based materials does not promote expansion
or cracking of the material, in contrast to the situation for
portland cement-based samples, where significant expansion
and cracking associated with the formation of secondary
ettringite and/or gypsum is observed.91,92 Similar results have
been reported for fly ash and bottom ash geopolymers
exposed to Na2SO4-rich environments. Conversely, several
studies93–95 report significant loss of compressive strength
and formation of gypsum and ettringite as sulfate attack
reaction products in low-calcium fly ash-based alkali-acti-
vated binders after exposure to MgSO4 solutions. This is
consistent with observations in high calcium fly ash geopoly-
mers,96 where formation of gypsum, brucite, and magnesium
silicate hydrate phases has been observed after immersion in
MgSO4.
Recent results92 have revealed that the key factor control-
ling the degradation mechanism of AAMs is not the sulfate
itself, as tends to be the case in portland cement systems, but
rather it is the nature of the cation accompanying the sulfate
anions. Exposure to Na2SO4 seems to favor the structural
evolution of the binding phases and densification of the sys-
tem,92 which is consistent with the known role of Na2SO4 as
an activator in some higher-Ca alkali-activated and hybrid
binders.45,61 Conversely, the presence of magnesium as the
cation accompanying sulfate anions leads to decalcification
of the Ca-rich gel phases in AAMs, promoting the decay of
the main binding phases and leading to formation of low-
strength M–S–H type phases.92
Figure 6 shows a BSE image and corresponding elemental
maps of an alkali-activated slag/fly ash concrete after
6 months of exposure to MgSO4 solution. Angular particles
correspond to unreacted slag and spherical particles are
1004 Journal of the American Ceramic Society—Bernal and Provis
Fig. 6. BSE image and elemental maps of alkali-activated 75 wt% slag/25 wt% fly ash concrete with 28 d curing after 6 months of MgSO4
exposure (Courtesy of I. Ismail).
partially reacted fly ash. Areas highly rich in Si are assigned
to the fine and coarse aggregates used for producing the con-
cretes. In the exposed concrete, the main binding phase is
enriched in Mg and Si, with minor traces of Al, which dem-
onstrate that Mg2+ is effectively inducing the decalcification
of the binding phase, and promoting the formation of a
M–(A)–S–H type gel instead. A vein of gypsum running ver-
tically through the specimen is also observed in the Ca and S
elemental maps. This suggests that during the decalcification
of the C–A–S–H products resulting from alkali-activation of
the slag, Ca2+ is released into the pore solution, which in the
presence of a high concentration of SO42 favors the precipi-
tation of gypsum.
(4) Chloride Ingress
The rate of chloride ingress into a reinforced concrete is
often used as a key parameter in durability or service life
analysis, because under many types of environmental condi-
tions experienced in the developed world, the corrosion of
embedded steel reinforcing elements by chlorides is the main
cause of concrete degradation. Chlorides are either applied
as de-icing salts in cold climate regions in the winter, or enter
the material due to marine spray/aerosols in coastal regions.
The degree of structural change induced by chloride in the
actual cement binder is generally low—particularly in the
case of alkali-activated binders, which do not show signifi-
cant conversion of layered calcium sulfoaluminate hydrates
to chloroaluminates such as Friedel’s salt—and so the main
influence of binder characteristics in resisting chloride pene-
tration is that the binder must provide resistance to chloride
transport.
There are to date a limited number of studies focused
specifically on the chloride permeability of AAMs29,33,97–103;
Vol. 97, No. 4
although, there is a general consensus that these materials
exhibit a lower permeability to chlorides compared to port-
land/blended cements, when cured adequately and evaluated
under the same experimental conditions. However, there is
not yet an extensive database of chloride diffusion coefficients
available for alkali-activated concretes, and there is particu-
larly a lack of information describing their variation with
time, which is needed for service life modeling. This is due in
part to the fact that AAMs are more often studied by mate-
rials scientists than by concrete technologists with a focus on
concrete durability, and partly because there are still signifi-
cant open questions regarding how these coefficients can be
reliably determined for non-portland cements. This is there-
fore a critical question requiring attention from the scientific
community.
The various electrically accelerated testing methods
adopted to evaluate chloride movement in concretes vary
greatly in terms of what is actually measured102; for exam-
ple, the Rapid Chloride Permeability test described in the
ASTM C1202 standard in fact measures the conductivity
of the material, rather than actual permeability.104 Consid-
ering the highly ionic pore solution environment present in
alkali-activated binders,70,87 as discussed in Section III, it is
expected that the mobility of all ions present (not just
chloride, and particularly alkali cations and hydroxide
anions in alkali-activated binders) will be registered in the
test results. This indicates that results obtained from
cementitious materials with different pore solutions, such as
portland-blended cements and AAMs, cannot be used as a
criterion to determine which material will present lower
chloride permeability in service, as the results cannot be
directly comparable. The adoption of other testing methods
to assess chloride permeability, such as NordTest NT Build
492, and ponding tests including ASTM C1543, offers
April 2014 Durability of Alkali‐Activated Materials
scope for a better indication of the actual penetration of
chlorides into AAMs in service, as these tests involve the
use of a colorimetric approach (spraying of tested speci-
mens with silver nitrate) to determine the chloride penetra-
tion depth. This can then be used to calculate diffusion
coefficients via consideration of the chemistry of the pore
solution (particularly Cl /OH ratio) in the alkali-activated
binder system.33
Recent results33 have demonstrated that the nature of the bin-
der gel strongly influences the chloride permeability in alkali-
activated slag/fly ash systems. This is a combined effect of the
space-filling characteristics of the gels, where C–A–S–H type
gels are less porous than N–A–S–H “geopolymer” type bind-
ers,34 and the capacity of each of the gels to bind chloride ions.
In high-Ca systems, chloride ions can not only be chemisorbed
onto C–A–S–H products in the layers and interlayer spaces but
can also be chemically bound to the C–S–H.105 In portland
cement/slag binders, it has been observed that the layered dou-
ble hydroxides forming as secondary reaction products play a
significant role in determining the chloride permeability, as these
phases have the capacity to adsorb chlorides.106 The sorption of
chlorides on the secondary layered double hydroxide phases
forming in AAMs has not yet been studied in detail; however,
hydrotalcite is the main secondary reaction product formed in
most alkali-activated slag binders,11,107 and can ion exchange
chlorides for hydroxides to some extent.108 Therefore, it is highly
possible that this phase plays a comparable chloride-binding
role in alkali-activated slags.
In low-Ca alkali-activated systems, a higher degree of
direct chloride binding than takes place in Ca-rich systems
has been observed.33 This is associated with the higher sur-
face area of the N–A–S–H type gel when compared with
C–A–S–H gel,32 which favors a higher degree of physical
absorption of chlorides in the low-calcium gels, and there
may also be chemical effects introduced by the differences in
(alumino)silicate framework charge, but these have not yet
been explored in detail. In alkali-activated fly ash systems,
precipitation of halite (NaCl) has been identified in dried
paste specimens taken from regions where chloride has pene-
trated,33 indicating that the N–A–S–H gels are likely to be
hosting a chloride-rich pore solution.
Consideration of the nature of the binder gels forming in
AAMs is then a key factor in predicting chloride penetra-
tion into reinforced alkali-activated concretes, as enhanced
binding of chlorides to the reaction products in the system
will reduce the content of free chlorides that can migrate to
promote corrosion processes in the steel rebar. This then
provides further scope for the design of highly durable
binders through the analysis and tailoring of binder gel
chemistry.
V. Perspectives
In general, and particularly looking to extend the discussion
from mainly paste-related factors to also include some
comments on the understanding of alkali-activated concretes:
the various influences on concrete strength and durability of
parameters such as paste content,76,79,109,110 precursor
chemistry,61,111 precursor blending,29,112 water/binder
76,110,113,114
ratio, activator chemistry (dose and composi-
tion),100,109,114–116 curing conditions113,117, and fiber rein-
forcement118,119 are now becoming better understood. It is
also being more widely identified that drying-related micro-
cracking is a key issue which requires careful control,115,120
and that this is essential in achieving good overall perfor-
mance—particularly in terms of superficial appearance,
which is often just as important as actual material perfor-
mance in achieving commercial acceptance for a material.
The key areas with need for future work related to the tech-
nology of alkali-activated binders, and particularly the inter-
relationships between microstructure and durability, include
(but are by no means limited to) the following.
1005
(1) Formulation and Materials Design Aspects
1. Availability of admixtures, organic or inorganic, which
will enable enhanced workability of AAMs at low
water content.66
2. Identification and development of alternative precur-
sors which are (a) not waste streams from other indus-
tries and thus subject to quality control issues, and (b)
not in such high demand from the portland-blended
cement industry as slag and fly ash are in many parts
of the world at present.
3. Description of the corrosion chemistry of mild steel
reinforcing elements within the pore solution environ-
ments of alkali-activated binders based on either fly
ash or slag, considering the differences in ionic envi-
ronments and redox potential between these systems.
(2) Processing and Testing Aspects
1. Adequate control of curing conditions to minimize
shrinkage and cracking, including particularly the area
of shrinkage-controlling admixtures63,121—the cracking
tendency under applied load or restrained shrinkage in
alkali-activated slag concretes has been assessed as
being “comparable” to the performance of portland
cement-based materials,122,123 and it could thus be
expected that similar design codes should be able to be
used for both types of materials, but this requires fur-
ther validation.
2. Understanding of long-term properties such as chloride
diffusion coefficients, and particularly how they can be
predicted from laboratory tests, with the knowledge
that the time-temperature-maturity relationships for
the microstructure of an alkali-activated material may
be very different from the relationships in effect for a
portland cement-based material.
(3) Service Life Prediction Aspects
1. The availability of validated laboratory testing proce-
dures to enable the analysis of key degradation mecha-
nisms on an accelerated timescale.
2. The integration of these testing outcomes into a vali-
dated model for the service life of alkali-activated con-
cretes under various types of real-world service
conditions, particularly including the simultaneous
influences of multiple modes of degradation.
These are all areas of active ongoing research at this point
in time, and are likely to remain so for many years to come
providing ample scope for major advancements to be made
in the science and technology of these materials in coming
years.
VI. Conclusions
The durability of AAMs is strongly dependent on the nano-
and microstructure of the reaction products forming in these
systems, as a function of the type of precursor, the nature
and concentration of the activator, and also the maturity of
the material. High-Ca systems have a structure mainly domi-
nated by a C–A–S–H gel, which is less porous than the “geo-
polymer” gel forming in low-Ca systems. This is one of the
main factors controlling the transport properties of AAMs;
however, the differences in chemistry of both pore solution
and reaction products in AAMs produced with different pre-
cursors modify the chemical mechanisms that can lead to the
decay of these binders when exposed to aggressive environ-
ments.
Exposure to sulfate salts can sometimes negatively impact
the structure of AAMs, depending on the cation accompany-
ing the salt. Immersion of alkali-activated specimens in
1006 Journal of the American Ceramic Society—Bernal and Provis
Na2SO4 favors the structural evolution and increasing matu-
rity of the binding phases, and does not have any apparent
negative effect on the material. On the other hand, the expo-
sure of AAMs to MgSO4 promotes the destruction of the
main reaction products via a cation-exchange mechanism,
which leads to the formation of M–S–H type gels. Special
attention should be given to the cations present in sulfate-
rich environments when using alkali-activated binders.
Carbonation is also controlled by the nature of the bind-
ing phases, and more importantly by the chemistry of the
pore solution. Under natural carbonation conditions, AAMs
present comparable carbonation rates to portland cements;
however, accelerated carbonation testing conditions can
induce the rapid decay of an alkali-activated material. For
reliable testing of the susceptibility of AAMs to carbonation,
a better understanding of the effect of exposure conditions
on the material needs to be developed, to enable selection
of adequate testing conditions to properly simulate service
conditions.
AAMs are well known for their reduced chloride penetra-
tion rates, which have in some instances been attributed to
their reduced overall permeability compared with portland
cements. However, it has been demonstrated that this is a
combined effect not only depending on the bulk transport
properties of the system, as the chemistry of the binding
phases strongly influences the binding of chlorides, and,
therefore, the time taken before corrosion of the steel rebars
in reinforced structures is initiated.
In general, although scientific knowledge in this area is
increasing rapidly, a deeper understanding of the mechanisms
inducing structural changes in AAMs still needs to be devel-
oped, based on enhanced microstructural and nanostructural
descriptions of the binder and its interaction with different
environments. This will enable selection of the correct testing
conditions to enable accurate evaluation of the performance
of these materials under different aggressive conditions, and
also to generate limit state criteria and service life models to
aid in the formulation of AAMs with higher resistance to
specific decay processes, depending on the application for
which the material is being designed.
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to the colleagues who have generously provided graphics to be
used in this article: Dr. Rackel San Nicolas (U. Melbourne), Dr. Erich
Rodr
ıguez (U. del Valle), and Dr. Idawati Ismail (U. Melbourne/U. Malaysia
Sarawak). The authors are supported by funding from the European Research
Council, Starting grant no. #335928 (GeopolyConc), and from the University
of Sheffield.
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Dr. Susan A. Bernal is a Research
Fellow in the Department of Materi-
als Science and Engineering, Univer-
sity of Sheffield, UK. She holds
BEng (2004) and DEng (2009)
degrees in Materials Engineering
from Universidad del Valle, Colom-
bia. From 2009 to 2010 she was a
postdoctoral researcher in the
Instrument Center for Solid-State
NMR Spectroscopy at Aarhus Uni-
versity, Denmark, and then worked
as a Research Fellow at the Univer-
sity of Melbourne, Australia from
2010-2012, before relocating to Sheffield. Her research inter-
ests involve the development and assessment of low-CO2
cementitious materials, especially alkali-activated binders,
particularly focusing on valorization of wastes derived from
industrial and mining processes, characterization of cements
on the nano- and macro-scale, and durability.
Vol. 97, No. 4
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Prof. John L. Provis holds BE
(Hons.) (2002) and PhD (2006)
degrees in Chemical Engineering
from the University of Melbourne,
Australia, and a BSc (2002) in
Applied Mathematics from the same
institution. He was appointed to a
Chair in the Department of Materi-
als Science and Engineering at the
University of Sheffield in 2012, hav-
ing previously led the Geopolymer
and Minerals Processing Group in
the Department of Chemical & Bio-
molecular Engineering, University of
Melbourne. He is Associate Editor of Cement and Concrete
Research, and has edited a technical book and a RILEM
state of the art report on geopolymers and other alkali-acti-
vated binder systems. He is the 2013 holder of the RILEM
Robert L\x92Hermite Medal, awarded annually to the lead-
ing researcher under the age of 40 active in the areas of con-
struction materials, systems or structures, and chairs a
RILEM Technical Committee (TC 247-DTA) focused on
durability analysis of non-Portland cement concretes. His
research is focused on the characterization of novel low-CO2
cements and concretes, and the development of conceptual
and computational models for the fluid-solid interaction pro-
cesses which control the formation and durability of cementi-
tious materials in infrastructure and nuclear waste
immobilization applications.