Technical paper # 25
published November 2018: DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.34337.25441
Why Alkali-activated-materials AAM are not Geopolymers
Script of the Video series available
at the Geopolymer Institute, Why-AAM-are not GP and on YouTube.
Many scientists and civil engineers are mistaking alkali activation for geopolymers, fueling confusion, using them as synonyms without understanding what they really are.
To sum-up: Alkali-Activated Materials (AAM) are NOT Polymers, so they cannot be called Geo-Polymers. AAMs are hydrates and Geopolymers are polymers. Geopolymers are NOT a subset of AAM because they are not a calcium hydrate alternative (no NASH, no KASH). Geopolymer is not a hydrate, because water does not participate in the structuration of the material. They belong to two very different and separate chemistry systems (a hydrate/precipitate that is a monomer or a dimer versus a true polymer). Those who claim that both terms are synonyms are promoting a misleading scientific belief.
In my four keynotes at the Geopolymer Camp (2014-2017), I explained why Alkali- Activated-Materials are not Geopolymers, or why alkali-activation is not geopolymerization. We have selected all the sequences that had been dedicated to this issue in the GPCamp-2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 keynotes. These videos are titled: Why Alkali- Activated Materials are NOT Geopolymers. You will finally understand why there are two different systems.
Click here to see how to download paper nr 25 Why-AAM.pdf.
