Monitoring and characterization of creation of geopolymers prepared from fly ash and metakaolin by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy method

The formation of geopolymers from fly ash (FA) and metakaolin (MK) was investigated. The effect of different reactivity of FA and MK was studied by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy method. Geopolymer materials were obtained by an alkaline activation of aluminosilicate sources. The aim of this work is to develop methods for working properties prediction of geopolymer materials based on the starting materials. Selection of a geopolymerization scheme is found to be a key factor to realize a beneficial effect of improved reactivity. Finally, a descriptive model of the mechanism of geopolymer formation, taking into account the quality of starting materials was proposed. (c) 2014 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 34: 841-849, 2015