Crystallographic investigations of bassanite hydration to gypsum in the presence of additives

This proposal is part of a PhD project framework aimed to study the hydration of hydraulic binders. The subject is Gypsum plaster, which is one of the most used building materials in the world. The use of additives to control the hydration kinetics and the size and morphology of the final crystals, is a standard practice to optimize the process and properties of the gypsum-based material [1]. With this proposal we aim to investigate the influence, at the microscopic level, of the most common additives used in the industry to tune the hydration reaction of bassanite to gypsum. Different stages of the hydration reaction will be studied using a 3DXRD and 3D-PDF approach, to follow the aggregation kinetics (crystal orientation, mosaicity) at different selected times during the crystallization process. The results of this study will be of foremost importance to describe the interactions at the nanoscale between the additives and the plaster.