Study of beyond nearest-neighbor environment and intermediate-range order in a sodium aluminosilicate geopolymer using Reverse Monte Carlo modeling

A large scale three-dimensional structural model of a geopolymer with an approximate composition of NaAlSi2O6.5.5H(2)O obtained by Reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) modeling based on experimental high-energy x-ray diffraction is presented for the first time in order to obtain information regarding beyond nearest-neighbor environment and intermediate-range order (IRO). RMC model exhibits a three-dimensional network consisting of randomly cross-linked AlO4 and SiO4 tetrahedral units with uniformly distributed Na atoms and H2O molecules. The bond angle distributions, i.e. T-O-T, O-T-O and Na-O-Na angles, are somewhat distorted with lower values compared to analogous crystal systems. The origin of the first peak in the structure factor indicating IRO is investigated using the partial structure factors; Na-Na, Si-Na, Al-Si, O-H, and H-H atom pairs are found to be the main contributors. Ring size distribution analysis demonstrates that the structure mainly involves 6-, 7- and 8-membered rings. The coherence length of these IRO characteristics is similar to 10.3 angstrom.