Oleic Acid-Influenced Graphene Oxide from Sugarcane Bagasse as Waterproofing Admixture in Rendering Mortar (external wall finishing)

Abstract

This study prepared a hydrophobic rendering mortar using oleic acid-influenced graphene oxide (OA-GO) as an admixture. The graphene oxide (GO) used in this study was synthesized from sugarcane bagasse. Oleic Acid (OA) was used as an influencing agent of GO in making the OA-GO admixture. Rendering mortars with GO and OA admixtures were fabricated to differentiate the OA-GO admixture's effects. FT-IR, SEM, and XRD were performed to confirm the synthesized GO from sugarcane bagasse. Hydrophobicity was evaluated through a contact angle test, with subsequent statistical analyses revealing significant disparities among the tested mortars and across varying time intervals. Results showed that the use of OA-GO admixture corresponds to a higher contact angle of 98.50° ± 3.68° and 115.82° ± 10.86° after curing for 7 and 28 days, respectively. Thereby confirming its hydrophobicity among other tested mortars. Also, the compressive strength test results showed an increased compressive strength of the mortar with OA-GO admixture by almost twice, 1.82, that of the mortar with OA alone. It is concluded that the GO used in producing the OA-GO admixture equalizes the downside effect of OA. The results helped understand the effectiveness of sugarcane bagasse as a primary material in making an admixture to create a hydrophobic rendering mortar for external wall finishing.