Ziyou Yu, Rodrigo de Oliveira-Silva, Everton Lucas Oliveira, Nana Wen, Yiannis Pontikes, and Dimitrios Sakellariou of KU Leuven and Université Paris-Saclay have published a new article in Analytical Chemistry (Vol. 97, Issue 15, April 13, 2025), entitled: “Leaching Kinetics of Iron-Rich Alkali-Activated Materials under Sulfuric Acid Attack: An In Situ Method Using Low-Field NMR Relaxometry.”
The study introduces a noninvasive NMR relaxometry approach to monitor in real-time the Fe³⁺ leaching behavior from iron-rich alkali-activated materials (AAMs) under sulfuric acid attack. By calibrating proton relaxation rates against Fe³⁺ concentration, the method captures the dynamics of acid dissolution with high temporal resolution. Compared to traditional ex situ tests, this in situ NMR technique offers a faster, more accurate assessment of acid resistance. The authors tested two AAM samples with differing calcium content, showing that increased Ca levels correlate with improved acid resistance in the low-calcium regime (<20 mol%).
Reference:
Z. Yu, R. de Oliveira-Silva, E.L. Oliveira, N. Wen, Y. Pontikes, D. Sakellariou, Leaching Kinetics of Iron-Rich Alkali-Activated Materials under Sulfuric Acid Attack: An In Situ Method Using Low-Field NMR Relaxometry, Analytical Chemistry, Vol. 97, Issue 15, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.4c05180
Acknowledgements:
This work was supported by KU Leuven SIM² and other partners as listed in the original publication.
