Young Scientist Award from the GDCh Division of the Chemistry of Construction Materials

The chemistry of construction materials Young Scientist Award 2022 was presented to Dr. Elisabeth John and M.Sc. Serena Mingione at the 4th International Conference on the Chemistry of Construction Materials (ICCCM)   awarded.

Dr. Elisabeth John: "[...] in recognition of her outstanding dissertation entitled "The Effect of Artificial Calcium Silicate Hydrate on Cement Hydration" written in the working group of Professor Dietmar Stephan at the Technical University of Berlin. In her dissertation, the award winner deals with the production and characterization of CSH phases. She succeeds extraordinarily well in spanning fundamental research topics in cement hydration and the optimization of CSH syntheses. In a very comprehensive review article, Dr. John deals with the relevant historical and current work in the field of CSH nucleation. Her resulting synthetic and analytical work makes a significant contribution to clarifying the influence of calcium-silicate ratios on cement hydration. The development of a new IR method is an essential part of this scientific work and opens up the possibility for the first time to follow silicate formation in situ. The award winner ultimately demonstrates the relevance of her work for practical use by means of a comprehensive study on factors influencing CSH production. In it, she provides evidence that both efficiency and energy input can be improved through optimized reaction control."

Serena Mingione: "[...] to recognize her outstanding master thesis conducted at the University of Naples Federico II in collaboration with the EMPA – Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, entitled „Investigation on the reactivity of slag as supplementary cementitious material”. Ms. Mingione presented an approach to improve the CO2 balance of cements by investigating the potential use of slags and its limitation by minor elements (Zn, Mg, and Sr). The thesis evaluated the influence of industrial slags on the structure, reactivity, and hydration behavior of cements. The model system used was based on calcium aluminosilicate glasses serving as fundamental validation of the presence of various oxide compounds. All experiments were carefully considered and purposefully performed. The analytical methods allowed a precise characterization of the model system. Application-oriented mortar tests rounded off the work. Ms. Mingione's work came to the conclusion that divalent ions influence the formation of non-bridging oxides which results in a less interconnected network of the glasses and a more reactive material. Thus, it represents added value for further investigations on the way to a CO2-neutral future of the construction industry."

The chemistry of construction materials Young Scientist Award 2020 was presented to Dr. Elsa Qoku and M.Sc. Christopher Schiefer   awarded.

dr Elsa Qoku: In appreciation of her dissertation entitled "Characterization and quantification of crystalline and amorphous phase assemblage in ternary binders during hydration". The central concern of the work is the deepening of the hydration mechanisms of ternary binders with special consideration of the role of X-ray amorphous phases. Thus, this work meets a current research topic of chemistry of construction materials. It impresses with a strong methodical investigation that follows the structure of the dissertation - chemical reaction - analysis - modeling - stringently. Ms. Qoku deals with very complex issues clearly, concisely and very easily understandable. This work is characterized by an excellent overview of the international literature and a very good reference to it during the evaluation. A particular strength of the work is the methodological comparison between QXRD, NMR, TGA and stoichiometric calculations. The model concepts further developed by Ms. Qoku on the basis of her experimental results, flanked by thermodynamic models, are new for the hydration of binders rich in alumina cement. Overall, this dissertation significantly expands the knowledge of the temporal evolution of the hydrate phases in complex ternary systems. Therefore, the submitted dissertation represents a scientifically outstanding achievement.

Christopher Schiefer: In recognition of his master's thesis entitled "Mg-Al-LDH-PCE nanocomposites as hydration accelerators for cement". Mr. Schiefer's master's thesis is dedicated to the synthesis, analysis and application of Layered Double Hydroxides (LDH) nanocomposites as hydration accelerators for cements such as Portland cement and calcium aluminate cement. With this topic, Mr. Schiefer encounters an important area of current chemical research in chemistry of construction materials. Recognizing the fundamental connections of the acceleration of cement hydration is a very important key for increasing the performance of cements and thus associated with the CO2 reduction of cements, concrete, mortar and plaster. The comprehensive presentation of the literature is impressive, the derivation of the task is precise and logical. The synthesis experiments are very well thought out and skilfully executed. The analytical methods are purposefully selected and comprehensive, the application-oriented tests in the mortar round off the experimental work. The entire work is also very successful in its form and design as well as the representations. Overall, Mr. Schiefer presents an extremely fruitful and worthy master's thesis.