Thermodynamic stability, microvoid distribution and phases transformation of natural pozzolana opal shale（POS） were studied systematically in this work. XRD analysis showed that opal-CT, including microcrystal cristobalite and tridymite, is a major component of POS. DTA and FT-IR indicated that there were many hydroxyl groups and acid sites on the surface of amorphous SiO2 materials. FE-SEM analysis exhibited amorphous SiO2 particles（opal-A） covering over stacking sequences microcrystal cristobalite and tridymite. Meanwhile, MIP analysis demonstrated that porosity and pore size distribution of POS remained uniform below 600 ℃. Because stable porous microstructure is a key factor in improving photocatalyst activity, POS is suited to preparing highly active supported.
Stable homogeneous suspensions of multi-walled carbon nanotubes （MWCNTs） were prepared using gum arabic （GA） as dispersant and were incorporated to Portland cement paste. The dispersion was examined by ultraviolet visible spectroscopy （UV-vis）, and the concentration measurement shows that the optimum concentration of GA is 0.45 g · L^-1. The dispersibility of the surface-modified MWCNTs in aqueous solution and cement matrix were investigated by transmission electron microscopy （TEM） and energy dispersive spectroscopy （EDS）, and the mechanical properties of the composites were investigated. The results show that the addition of the treated nanotubes can improve both the flexural strength and the compressive strength of the Portland cement composite significantly. The flexural strength of the composite increases up to 43.38% with the MWCNT concentration of 0.08% （by weight of cement）. The porosity and pore size distribution of the composites were measured by mercury intrusion porosimetry （MIP）, and the results indicate that the cement paste doped with MWCNTs obtained lower porosity and concentrated pore size distribution. The morphological structure was analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscopy （FESEM） and EDS. It is shown that MWCNTs act as bridges and networks across cracks and voids, which transfer the load in case of tension, and the interface bond strength between the nanotubes and matrix is very strong.
This work aimed to research the structure models of amorphous materials. Five amorphous and paracrystalline samples(natural or artificial) were investigated via 29Si/27 Al nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) and field emission scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive spectroscopy(FE-SEM/EDS). The results of NMR showed the resonances of different specimens:-93.2 ppm,-101.8 ppm,-111.8 ppm for natural pozzolana opal shale(POS). These peaks were assigned to the Q2(2OH), Q3(OH)/Q4(1Al) and Q4 respectively. The results of 27 Al MAS NMR indicated that Al substituted for Si site in tetrahedral existing in the POS, while the Al/Si atomic ratio in opal was low(around 0.04). For the alkali-silicate-hydrate gel, there were at least three resolved signals assigned to Q0 and Q1, respectively. For the fused silica glass powder, there were the primary signals centered about at the range from-107 to-137 ppm, which were assigned to Q4 units. In addition, the peaks at around-98 and-108 ppm were corresponding to Q3(1OH) and Q4 units existing in aerogel silica structure.
