Dear All,

we would like to cordially invite you to the MChG lecture of  

Prof. Dr. Torben Gädt

Department of Chemistry, Technical University of Munich, Lichtenbergstr. 4, 85748 Garching, Germany

Inaugural Lecture!

S for Silica, C for Calcia – Chemistry of Construction Materials

on Tuesday, July, 19th at 5:15 p.m. in the Science Cinema - CH26411 Lecture Hall.

We are looking forward to your participation.

THEMA/TITLE:

S for Silica, C for Calcia – The Chemistry of Construction Materials

A construction worker mixing a mortar or a concrete on the job-site is actually conducting a complex sequence of chemical reactions which cause the setting and hardening of the concrete. Global production of construction materials like steel, asphalt or concrete occur at the gigaton scale. As the largest material class, concrete stands at approximately 30 Gt/a. The focus of this presentation is on the chemistry of concrete and related structural materials. It will answer the following questions: Why do cement scientists write C as shorthand for CaO? Why has concrete become the largest material class? What are the underlying chemical processes which determine the properties of concrete? Which analytical methods are suitable to study the chemical processes happening on the job-site?  Given the fact, that it is estimated that concrete production alone is responsible for 8% of annual CO2 emissions and a huge consumption of sand and gravel, it is mandatory to search for opportunities to improve on the current state-of-the-art. This presentation will programmatically describe how chemistry can improve the properties of concrete and will outline the key research objectives for the chemistry of construction materials for the next 20 years.