Composite materials and bonding elements from carbonation of calcium silicate and methods thereof

Abstract

The invention provides composite materials comprising novel bonding elements exhibiting unique microstructures and chemical compositions, and methods for their manufacture and uses, for example, in a variety of concrete components with or without aggregates in the infrastructure, construction, pavement and landscaping industries.

1 .- 49 . (canceled) 
     
     
         50 . A bonding matrix comprising a plurality of bonding elements, wherein the bonding elements are selected from:
 (a) a bonding element comprising a core of silica fully or partially surrounded by a silica rich rim of varying thickness that is fully or partially encased by CaCO 3  particles;   (b) a bonding element comprising a multi-phase core comprised of an uncarbonatable phase and partially reacted calcium silicate, which multi-phase core is fully or partially surrounded by a silica rich rim of varying thickness that is fully or partially encased by CaCO 3  particles; and   (c) a bonding element comprising particles of partially reacted calcium silicate without a distinct core, and a silica rim encased by CaCO 3  particles.   
     
     
         51 . The bonding matrix of  claim 50 , wherein the uncarbonatable phase is selected from silica and melilite. 
     
     
         52 . The bonding matrix of  claim 50 , wherein the calcium silicate is selected from wollastonite, pseudowollastonite, rankinite, belite, and carbonatable amorphous calcium silicates, or a combination of two or more thereof. 
     
     
         53 . The bonding matrix of  claim 50 , wherein one or more bonding elements comprise one or more voids. 
     
     
         54 . The bonding matrix of  claim 50 , further comprising one or more voids spatially disposed between bonding elements. 
     
     
         55 . The composite material of  claim 50 , wherein the silica rich rim has a thickness ranging from about 0.01 μm to about 50 μm. 
     
     
         56 . The composite material of  claim 50 , wherein the silica rich rim is characterized by a silica content ranging from about 50% to about 90% by volume and a CaCO 3  content ranging from about 10% to about 50% by volume. 
     
     
         57 . The composite material of  claim 50 , wherein the silica rich rim of varying thickness surrounds the core with a coverage of greater than about 90%. 
     
     
         58 . The bonding matrix of  claim 50 , wherein the bonding elements comprise:
 (a) a bonding element comprising a core of silica fully or partially surrounded by a silica rich rim of varying thickness that is fully or partially encased by CaCO 3  particles.   
     
     
         59 . The bonding matrix of  claim 58 , wherein the core is formed entirely from silica. 
     
     
         60 . The bonding matrix of  claim 50 , wherein the bonding elements comprise:
 (b) a bonding element comprising a multi-phase core comprised of an uncarbonatable phase and partially reacted calcium silicate, which multi-phase core is fully or partially surrounded by a silica rich rim of varying thickness that is fully or partially encased by CaCO 3  particles.   
     
     
         61 . The bonding matrix of  claim 60 , wherein the uncarbonatable phase forms the majority of the core. 
     
     
         62 . The bonding matrix of  claim 50 , wherein the bonding elements comprise:
 (c) a bonding element comprising particles of partially reacted calcium silicate without a distinct core, and a silica rim encased by CaCO 3  particles.   
     
     
         63 . A composite material comprising the bonding matrix of  claim 50 , and one or more filler materials. 
     
     
         64 . The composite material of  claim 63 , wherein the one or more filler materials are uniformly distributed in the bonding matrix. 
     
     
         65 . The composite material of  claim 64 , further comprising one or more supplementary materials selected from fly ash, slag and silica fume.