Oxysalt bonded cements

Oxysalt bonded cements are formed by acid-base reactions between a metal oxide in powdered solid form and aqueous solutions of metal chloride or sulphate. These reactions typically give rise to non-homo-geneous materials containing a number of phases, some of which are crystalline and have been well-characterized by the technique of X-ray diffraction. The structures of the components of these cements and the phase relationships which exist between them are complex. However, as will be described in the succeeding parts of this chapter, in many cases there is enough knowledge about these cements to enable their properties and limitations to be generally understood. 

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These cements were the earliest of the oxysalt bonded cements to be prepared (Sorel, 1855) and their chemistry has been the subject of numerous investigations over the years. There are considerable difficulties associated with such investigations. Not only does the cement contain a complex mixture of different crystalline precipitates but it is unaffected by boiling water and dissolves only slowly in strong acids. Consequently separation or analysis of any of the phases which may be present is difficult. Nonetheless, as early as 1925 at least 17 crystalline compounds were claimed to occur in the zinc oxychloride cement (Mellor, 1925). 

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