Nanohybrid of nanosilver and unsaturated polyester resin for enhancement the mechanical strength and chemical resistance of concrete

Chemical modification of concrete with polymeric matrix acquires concrete excellent mechanical strength, durability and better flow characters, to act superiorly in the formation of waterproof coatings, decrease the water infiltration, and form a thin layer that also acts in masonry repairing or resistance of the building structure. The point of novelty in the current approach is to manufacture polymer modified concrete (PMC) using nano-hybrid of silver nanoparticles (nanosilver; AgNPs) and unsaturated polyester resin (UPR), abbreviated as AgNPs@UPR. Whereas, AgNPs@UPR acted the role of cement in concrete structure for high mechanical properties and chemical resistance. Formerly, AgNPs (5.4 +/- 2.9 nm) were prepared within styrene (AgNPs@styrene) to be used with methyl methacrylate as a mixture of vinyl monomers for preparation of AgNPs@UPR. Incorporation of AgNPs within UPR resulted in production of highly thermal stabilized PMC. Data of compressive strength test revealed that, unmodified concrete was exhibited with compressive strength value of 0.4 MPa, whereas, PMC without AgNPs was shown with compressive strength (1.1 MPa), however, the highest value of compressive strength was estimated for PMC prepared with AgNPs@styrene to be 1.2 MPa. Impregnation of PMC-AgNPs in H2SO4 for 90 days shows that, non-significant decrement in flexural modulus (2970 MPa) and flexural strength (95 MPa) was observed. In summarization, AgNPs@UPR nano-hybrid was shown to act superiorly as a substituent of cement to acquire concrete structure high mechanical properties and chemical resistance.