Nanofibrillated cellulose and its applications in cement-based composites: A review

• Published in: Construction & building materials Vol. 288; p. 123122
• Main Authors: Santos, Rodrigo Felipe, Ribeiro, José Carlos Lopes, Franco de Carvalho, José Maria, Magalhães, Washington Luiz Esteves, Pedroti, Leonardo Gonçalves, Nalon, Gustavo Henrique, Lima, Gustavo Emilio Soares de
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 21-06-2021
• Subjects: Cement composites; Civil construction; Durability; Mechanical performance; Nanofibrillated celluloses; Cement composites; Nanofibrillated celluloses; CF; OPC; CAC; RPC; Mechanical performance; GP; Durability; NFC; HS; MFC; GU; Civil construction; SCD; BNC; CNC; HE
• DOI: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123122
• EISSN: 1879-0526
• ISSN: 0950-0618

•First systematic review focused on the application of NFCs in cement composites.•NFCs enhance the hydration process and mechanical properties of the composites.•NFCs improve bridging effect, matrix refinement, and durability of the composites.•Critical analysis of the behavior of NFC in cement matrices’ alkaline environments.•Use of NFC for sustainable civil construction is promising.
Cellulose is an abundant and biodegradable natural material that is not derived from petroleum. With the growing demand for high-performance materials, the interest in using nanocelluloses in different areas has increased. Nanofibrillated celluloses (NFCs) are result from mechanical processing of cellulose fibers, with or without chemical pretreatments. Characteristics such as large surface area, hydroxyl groups on their surface, high mechanical strength, and high length/width ratio give NFC beneficial effects when incorporated into cement composites. This work presents a review of researches carried out in recent years in the area of cement systems incorporating NFC. The characteristics of these nanocelluloses, their production, and the effect that the nanomaterial has on the behavior of cement composites are presented. It was observed that the addition of NFC brings relevant increases in mechanical properties. The maximum increments reported in the literature were 43% in compressive strength, 106% in flexural strength, 5% in modulus of elasticity, 71% in flexural modulus, 50% in fracture energy, and 192% in toughness. Furthermore, NFC has the potential to enhance the durability of the cement composites, since the nanoadmixtures provided cement matrices with lower sulfate penetration (~50%), greater thermal resistance (no microcracks at 250 °C), and greater resistance to accelerated aging (an increase of 20% in flexural strength and 25% in modulus of elasticity after 200 wet-dry cycles).