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Updated: Aug 16, 2026

Expression of Cementitious Pore Solution and the Analysis of Its Chemical Composition and Resistivity Using X-ray Fluorescence
Published on: September 23, 2018
Surface relaxation and chemical exchange in hydrating cement pastes: a two-dimensional NMR relaxation study
P J McDonald1, J-P Korb, J Mitchell
1Department of Physics, School of Electronics and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
Abstract:
We report the first nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) two-dimensional correlation T(1) - T(2) and T(2) - T(2) measurements of hydrating cement pastes. A small but distinct cross peak in the two-dimensional relaxation spectrum provides the first direct evidence of chemical exchange of water between gel and capillary pores occurring over the first 14 days of hydration. A correlation of features along the line T(1) = 4T(2) provides strong supportive evidence for the surface diffusion model of (1)H nuclear spin relaxation in cements and for a multimodal discrete pore size distribution. Differences in detail of the results are reported for white cement paste and white cement paste with added silica fume. Both the method and the theory presented can be applied more widely to other high surface area materials with other reactive surface areas.
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