A potassium cross-linked geopolymer made from synthetic metakaolin (SynMK) was prepared and contrasted to a similar geopolymer derived from natural metakaolin (NatMK). Xray diffraction (XRD) showed that the SynMK was a high purity analog of NatMK that exhibited no crystallinity and had a diffraction "halo" similar to that of the NatMK at 23° two-theta. The SynMK had a surface area of 166 m 2 /g and reacted rapidly with a potassium silicate solution to form a synthetic geopolymer. XRD of the resulting geopolymers, based on NatMK and SynMK, showed that the diffraction "halo" of the starting metakaolins at 23° two-theta shifted to 28° twotheta after reaction with alkali-silicate solutions. SEM micrographs of the geopolymer based on SynMK revealed a uniform and dense microstructure with no unreacted aluminosilicate particles present. Bright field TEM of the synthetic geopolymer showed a two phase microstructure, similar to naturally-based geopolymers described in literature.

M. Gordon

J. L. Bell

Comparison of Naturally and Synthetically‐Derived, Potassiumbased Geopolymers

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