Retardation effect of PCE superplasticizers with different architectures and their impacts on early strength of cement mortar

As the most effective superplasticizer, the comb-like PCE polymers also severely retard early cement hydration and hence decelerate early strength growth of concrete, which is undesired in some applications. In this study, a series of PCEs with different molecular architectures, including varied side chain length and density were synthetized by co-polymerizing acrylic acid and α-methallyl-ω-hydroxy poly(ethylene glycol) ether. Impacts of the...