Study on the dispersion performance and mechanism of polycarboxylate superplasticizer by the long side-chain dicarboxyl terminated

The steric hindrance formed by polyether side chains is the key factor determining the dispersion performance of polycarboxylate superplasticizer (PCE). While with the increase of the side chain length, the coiled conformation of side chain will prevent the dispersion ability of PCE from being further improved. In this work, the methallyl polyoxyethylene ether (HPEG) was esterified with tricarballylic acid (TA) to obtain dicarboxyl terminated macromonomer, and further used to synthesize polycarboxylate (PCETA). The fluidity tests show that compared with ordinary PCE-B2400 with short side chain, the dispersion performance of PCETA-2400 was slightly improved. While for the PCEs with long side chain, the dispersion ability of PCETA-4000 was significantly improved than that of ordinary PCE-B4000. The adsorption layer thickness of PCETA-4000 adsorbed on the surface of SiO2 sphere measured by dynamic light scattering is 7.93 nm, which is 1.3 times that of PCE-B4000. Due to electrostatic repulsion between the carboxylic groups, the stretching of long side-chain forms stronger steric hindrance and enhancing the dispersion of cement particles. In addition, PCETA also shows good slump retention and clay resistance properties, and it is an excellent multi-functional concrete admixture with great application potential.