Natural abundance high field (43)Ca solid state NMR in cement science.

This work is a systematic attempt to determine the possibilities and the limitations of the (43)Ca high field solid state NMR in the study of cement-based materials. The low natural abundance (0.135%) and small gyromagnetic ratio of (43)Ca present a serious challenge even in a high magnetic field. The NMR spectra of a number of cement compounds of known structure and composition are examined. The spectra of several phases important in cement science, e.g., anhydrous beta di-calcium silicate (beta-C(2)S) and tri-calcium (C(3)S) silicate were obtained for the first time and the relation of spectroscopic and structural parameters is discussed. The method was also applied to the hydrated C(3)S and synthetic calcium silicate hydrates (C-S-H) of different composition in order to understand the state of calcium and transformations in the structure during hydrolysis. The spectra of hydrated C(3)S reveals a calcium environment similar to that of the C-S-H samples and 11 A Tobermorite. These observations support the validity of using layered crystalline C-S-H systems as structural models for the C-S-H that forms in the hydration of Portland cement.