Reduction of the calcium leaching rate of cement paste by addition of silica nanoparticles

Calcium leaching is a degradation process that consists in the progressive dissolution of the cement paste as a consequence of the migration of the calcium ions to the aggressive solution. Although it is a well known phenomenon, a way of reducing it has not been found yet. The aim of this work is to prove how the addition of small amounts of silica nanoparticles to the cement paste can induce such reduction. The experimental results obtained have shown that nanosilica increases the strength of the cement paste about a 30% in cured samples and more than a 100% in the asymptotically leached ones. At the level of the structure of the C–S–H gel, silica nanoparticles increase the average length of the silicate chains and reduce their polymerization as calcium dissolves. An important decrease of the degradation in terms of porosity and amount of calcium lost has also been observed.