Application of Silica Fume Based Solid Activators for the One-Part Geopolymerization of Aluminosilicate Raw Materials

Geopolymerization stands out as the most promising technology to incorporate the sustainability principles in the construction sector. The research community has focused on altering the established two-part method of geopolymers production, where a corrosive alkaline solution is used to activate an aluminosilicate raw material, by introducing solid activators in the procedure (one-part synthesis procedure). Till today, most of the tested solid activators are commercial products with high embodied energy (e.g. Na2SiO3). However, an advanced solid activator was generated by our research team, through a simple procedure, where silica fume, sodium hydroxide and water were mixed and treated either thermally at 150 °C or by using a microwave for only 2 min to produce a solid powder with high Na2SiO3 content.