Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Journal of Cleaner Production

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jclepro

Review

A scientometric review of geopolymer concrete

Wyom Paul Zakka a, c, *, Nor Hasanah Abdul Shukor Lim b, **, Ma Chau Khun a
a
School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
b
Construction Materials Research Group (CMRG), School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310, Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia
c
Department of Building, University of Jos, PMB, 2084, Jos, Nigeria

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The drive towards sustainable construction materials that will reduce the amount of CO2 produced
Received 23 April 2020 during the manufacture of Portland cement has led researchers to investigate the suitability of alter-
Received in revised form native materials in concrete production. The use of industrial and agricultural by-products such as fly ash,
20 September 2020
slag, rice husk ash, and natural pozzolanas high in aluminosilicate content have been found useful in the
Accepted 21 September 2020
Available online 26 September 2020
production of geopolymer concrete which has become a suitable replacement for OPC concrete with its
higher strength, temperature stability, denser microstructure, higher bond strength, and resistance to
Handling editor: Prof. Jiri Jaromir Kleme
s chemicals. A holistic approach for the first scientometric review on geopolymer concrete is described in
this study. The study embraced an all-inclusive review concept using scientometric analysis and science
Keywords: mapping technology, and comprehensive discussion to highlight the most influential publication sources,
Scientometric analysis most used keywords, most active researchers and institutions, as well as literature with the highest
Geopolymer concrete impact on the field of Geopolymer concrete; to examine the current state-of-the-art research focus, and
Materials to identify the current research gaps. The study analyzed 2011 related bibliographic data mined from the
Mix design
Scopus database. The research gaps identified were in the areas of geopolymer type, materials, mix
Mechanical properties
design, mechanical properties, durability properties, microstructure, and adoption and application.
Durability
Further long-term studies are required in these areas to provide a basis for a regulatory framework for
adoption of geopolymer concrete. This study will help researchers understand the current trend in
geopolymer concrete, opening more room for further research as well as serve as a source of information
for policy makers, journal editors, professionals and research institutions.
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
2. Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
3. Scientometric analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.1. Literature sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2. Research keywords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.3. Sources of documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.4. Articles with the highest citation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.5. Authors with the highest citation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
3.6. Impact of research institutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
3.7. Countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
4. Findings and discussion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
4.1. Geopolymer type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4.2. Material constituents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

* Corresponding author. School of Civil Engineering, Universiti Teknologi

Malaysia, Johor Bahru, Johor. Malaysia.
** Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: paulzakka.pz@gmail.com (W.P. Zakka), norhasanah@utm.my,
paulzakka.pz@gmail.com, norhasanah@utm.my (N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.124353
0959-6526/© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353

4.3. Mix-design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.4. Curing temperature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
4.5. Mechanical properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4.6. Durability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.7. Microstructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.8. Adoption and application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.9. Areas for further research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
4.10. Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
5. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Funding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Declaration of competing interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

1. Introduction Deventer et al., 2012; Mehta and Siddique, 2017; Hassan et al.,
2020; Hassan et al., 2020a).
The production of Ordinary Portland Cement (OPC) which is the In conducting independent research, the review of literature is a
primary material for the production of concrete is known to significant and basic, yet tedious strategy to accumulate literature
contribute about 10% of the total global carbon dioxide (CO2) for a scientific study. There are a few files, like the h-index, an
emission. With concrete being the second most used resource on approach for which researchers can be evaluated and recognized,
earth after water, the continuous reliance on OPC will continue to and authors writings can be distinguished. It is an extensively
increase the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere. Re- acknowledged strategy to isolate the important from immaterial
searchers have made efforts to come up with alternative binders for literature by methods for the different variations of the h-file, e.g.,
the production of concrete to help reduce the CO2 burden on the the one for institutions or else totally new variations like the g-list
planet. Geopolymer concrete has emerged as a novel material that that is additionally founded on the h-index (Frehe et al., 2014).
has shown the capacity to replace conventional concrete. While Research publications are viably the acceptable currency of
maintaining similar properties to concrete, when designed and scientific work. They speak to the open total record of science,
produced properly with supplementary cementitious materials, it archiving observational outcomes and giving a discussion forum for
has the capacity of reducing the CO2 footprint of OPC production by theorizing, debate, and the steady development of scientific infor-
80%. Apart from releasing CO2 into the atmosphere, the production mation. In spite of the fact that publications are not the end purpose
of OPC cement consumes non-renewable resources like limestone of logical research, it is difficult to envision making an interpreta-
(Van Deventer et al., 2012; Provis and Bernal, 2014; Zhuang et al., tion of investigation into knowledge or practice without the indi-
2016; Hassan et al., 2019). Fig. 1 shows the process of production cation of research in publications. In this regard, no genuine
for OPC concrete and the stages were CO2 is released into the assessment of the impact of translational research can disregard
atmosphere. the significance of publications as intermediate output (Schneider
The geopolymerization process is a complex chemical process et al., 2017). Progressively, research metrics are being utilized,
that researchers are still trying to understand, it is however alongside expert assessment, to respond to essential inquiries. For
imperative to note that various researches have shown that the instance, experts in the scholarly community, government and the
mechanical properties of geopolymer concrete are influenced by corporate sector use them to envision logical leaps forward, figure
the composition of the aluminosilicates and their source, curing out where to contribute, and measure the estimation of past ven-
regime, and the alkaline solution type and concentration (Saloma tures (Plume and Colledge, 2016; Hutchins et al., 2016). The average
et al., 2017; Purwanto et al., 2018; Hadi et al., 2019). With the number of citation per paper is one of the significant reference
consistent growth of industrialization and population growth, in- measurements and shows the average cite effect of every publica-
dustrial wastes such as fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace tion in a group of quantities (Yu and Hayes, 2018).
slag, rice husk ash and other industrial waste products are dumped Scientometric analysis studies the quantitative areas of the
into landfills. The dumping of these industrial waste products in process of science, science policy, and communication in science. Its
landfills is deleterious to the environment as they are sources of main focus, though not limiting to, measures the impact of authors,
pollution (Jindal, 2019). Since geopolymer concrete requires raw articles, journals, institutions and understanding citations related
materials that have high aluminosilicates, the consumption of these to them. Also, it looks at visualization and mapping of scientific
industrial materials in the production of geopolymer concrete will fields, evaluation of indicators for future policy and management
reduce the pollution burden on the environment (Hassan et al., application. Recently, the performance of research is evaluated and
2020b). The valorization of these wastes will prove to be both measured using scientometrics as a tool (Mingers and Leydesdorff,
economically and environmentally advantageous since these 2015; Gla €nzel and Zhang, 2018; Şenel and Demir, 2018; Mansuri et
wastes are in great supply, and the continuous demand for al., 2019). This is a form of data mining, and since data is every-
affordable housing will keep rising with population growth (Van where, the ability to mine data to improve the various field of
Deventer et al., 2012; Jindal, 2019). research and human endeavor is important. Paper & Development
Geopolymer concrete possesses similar mechanical properties (2018) argued that there is scarcity of scientometric methods
with OPC concrete and has been found to perform better than OPC among applied researchers, and hence, applied researchers are
concrete when exposed to fire or harsh environments (Hassan et al., lagging behind in the field of scientometrics. The origin and quality
2020). Unlike OPC concrete which has had years of operational of huge information are regularly flawed and furthermore datasets
studies to provide a basis for design codes, geopolymer concrete is must be consolidated to be helpful. Big data are frequently too
still in its budding stage and requires long-term studies concerning voluminous to even consider being put away at only one computer
its mechanical and durability properties in field applications (Van system and to be overseen by customary database frameworks,

2
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun
Fig. 1. Schematic depiction of the process of production of Portland cement concrete (Provis and Bernal, 2014).
measurable bundles or standard graphical programming. Big data
can be characterized as an assortment of information from
customary and computerized sources inside and outside of certain
organizations which can be utilized for evaluation and discoveries
(Papi, 2018).
Although research into geopolymer concrete has been ongoing
for a few decades, it remains a new field compared to OPC concrete
composites, this has been able to sustain interest among re-
searches. This interest is expected to continue growing over the
next decade, however, there is limited information about the
application of geopolymer concrete when the main research
themes are considered. The need for a robust review of literature on
the state-of-the-art research of geopolymer concrete cannot be
overemphasized. An all-inclusive review concept made up of sci-
entometric analysis coupled with science mapping technology and
a comprehensive discussion was used for this study to achieve the
following objectives (1) to highlight the most influential publica-
tion sources, most used keywords, most active researchers and
institutions, as well as literature with the highest impact on the
field of Geopolymer concrete, (2) to examine the current state of
research focus, and (3) to identify the current research gaps and
make recommendations for further research to deal with the gaps
identified. The aim of this study is to provide a futuristic path of
areas where Geopolymer concrete can be improved and applied to
address the needs in materials and modern construction.
2. Methodology
This study adopted a Scientometric-based review (Xu et al.,
2018; Mryglod et al., 2018; Darko et al., 2019; Xiao et al., 2019)
and a comprehensive discussion of the present research areas in
geopolymer concrete. The logical basis for adopting the
3
Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353
scientometric review is that a number of review-based studies in
the construction field have shown that we might be depending on
judgements that might be subjective and hence, unreliable. An
unbiased and less subjective result can be achieved using sciento-
metric analysis (Song et al., 2016; Hosseini et al., 2018; Liao et al.,
2018). This method is suitable for this study as it highlights and
analyses the growth of research over a period of time. It makes use
of a quantitative perspective that visualizes and maps as well as
connect the development of research by depending on large
bibliographic data to assess the growth of a research field using
qualitative indexes (Lukman et al., 2019).
With the large number of research papers published by the
scientific community, it is important to know the most reliable
databases to source for materials. Aghaei et al. (2013) posited that
the two most extensive, efficient and objective databases for liter-
ature search are Scopus and Web of Science, with Scopus being the
database with the wider coverage and more contemporary publi-
cations. These two databases rank journals in terms of visibility and
citations which indicate the impact, prestige and influence of the
journal. This study adopted “Scopus” as its main source of data as it
could only find about 500 documents on web of science per
download on geopolymer concrete. However, Scopus was able to
provide over 2000 documents per download on Geopolymer con-
crete making it easy for scientometric analysis and visualization.
Bibliometrics and Scientometrics are novel firmly related logical
fields estimating and breaking down logical distributions in a
specific field. Bibliometrics is a novel logical field that permits
scholarly writing to be broke down factually and depicts produc-
tion designs in a specific field. Bibliometrics is the quantitative
investigation of the bibliographic data for distributions, including
measures, for example, absolute number of productions, reference
tallies, mean standardized reference score (MNCS), h-file, and
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun
proportions of interdisciplinarity and specialization too. Since any
huge research activity normally brings about productions, biblio-
metric examination is a speedy, direct, and efficient approach to
quantify investigate yield and quality. Moreover, specialists for the
most part concur that bibliometric examination produces objective,
refined, quantitative proportions of research impact for scientific
yields (Yu and Hayes, 2018; Saberi et al., 2019).
To extract relevant documents and data from the scopus data-
base, the keyword used for the search was geopolymer concrete.
Therefore, all documents related to Geopolymer concrete appeared
and were downloaded. The abstracts for each downloaded docu-
ment was read to ensure that the papers fall within the research of
Geopolymer concrete. The Scientometric analysis adopted science
mapping which gives a detail account and evaluates policy objec-
tives and processes bibliographic big data. Science mapping also
highlights the systemic and effective aspects of scientific research,
and represents how related disciplines, fields, authors, and indi-
vidual publications are to one another (Xu et al., 2018).
VOSviewer software was used for the analysis along with Scopus
analyzer. VOSviewer, an opensource software that was created for
building and review of bibliometric maps. Dissimilar to most soft-
ware that are utilized for bibliometric mapping, VOSviewer gives
unique consideration to the graphical portrayal of bibliometric
maps. The usefulness of VOSviewer as a data mining tool is
particularly helpful for showing huge bibliometric maps in a simple
to-decipher way (van Eck and Waltman, 2010). VOSviewer is ver-
satile in the sense that it can be used to also create, visualize and
explore maps no matter the type of network data (van Eck and
Waltman, 2013).
Clusters and inter relatedness among keywords, scientists, ar-
ticles, and institutions were analyzed through science mapping.
The data extracted about researchers and keywords give a pano-
ramic view on the most recent development of scholastic research
in a specific area. It forestalls scholars in the worldwide scholarly
network or the individuals who are keen on the scholastic area
from being segregated (Xu et al., 2018).
The study employed a sequential process of data collection from
Scopus, tool selection, data mining, data processing and analysis,
Fig. 2. Type of Documents collected.
4
Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353
visualization and presentation, interpretation, discussion of find-
ings, gap identification, limitation, and conclusion.
3. Scientometric analysis
A total of 2011 articles were found from the literature search
conducted in the scopus database. The literature samples show that
research into Geopolymer concrete has kicked up a gear for over a
decade. However, studies into Geopolymer concrete is still relatively
new compared to OPC concrete which has found wide acceptance,
and has influenced many policy decisions regarding concrete. The
research articles show a trend of being thematic and can be grouped
into different clusters based on similarities of content and problems
addressed. These articles were analyzed using the Scientometric
method to show clarity on the overall literature sample, research
keywords, source of publication, most influential and productive
scholars, most cited articles, countries, and institutions actively
participating in the study of Geopolymer concrete by constructing
and generating maps for mining information. Fig. 2 gives a visual
representation of the types of documents present in the data collected
from the Scopus database as analyzed by the scopus analyzer; Journal
publications and conference papers make up 61.5% and 27.2%
respectively, and account for a combined 88.7% of the document
database on geopolymer concrete. The study focuses on journal pa-
pers and conference papers as the main source of data since they
make up 88.7% of the data collected as highlighted in Fig. 2.
3.1. Literature sample
The total literature sample shown in Fig. 3, shows the publica-
tion years spanning 1989 to 2020 (March). The first article on
Geopolymer concrete was found in 2004, some other few articles
were found between 2005 and 2013 before research in the area
began to peak. The most productive years for research in Geo-
polymer concrete was between 2014 and 2019. This trend shows
that researchers are showing more interest in Geopolymer concrete
as an alternative to OPC based concrete, hence, the expectation for
more research publications in the coming years.
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun
Fig. 3. Literature sample according to year of publication.
3.2. Research keywords
The content of a research which shows and captures the core
area of the research domain is represented by keywords (Su and
Lee, 2010). Table 1 Shows the keywords with the most occur-
rences in the research articles used for this study. Inorganic poly-
mers and Geopolymer appeared most in the keywords of the
researches conducted by scholars with concrete and compressive
strength making the top four most used keywords. Fig. 4 shows the
visualization of the most occurring keywords and their connectivity
to each other according to their link strength. The visualization
shows that inorganic polymers and geopolymer are the most
prominent keywords in the study of geopolymer concrete relative
to other keywords and the size of their labels. Also, the thicker the
lines between two items, the stronger their total link strength (Jan
van Eck and Waltman, 2017). However, neglecting the main key-
words as they do not represent a core research area, it is observed
that the main research areas are compressive strength, curing, and
mechanical properties.
3.3. Sources of documents
The total link strength of a journal to other peer reviewed
journals, the number of documents published, and its citation
count shows its impact as seen in Table 2. Construction and
Building Materials rank highest in terms of impact with a total link
strength of 1383, a publication total of 243, and a citation count of
6473. The visualization in Fig. 5 shows Construction and Building
Materials as the leading journal with publications on geopolymer
concrete, as it has the larger label. Fig. 6 shows the documents by
source per year that had publications on geopolymer concrete be-
tween 2008 and 2020 (March) using Scopus analyzer, the chart still
5
Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353
highlights the fact that Construction and Building Materials is the
leading journal.
3.4. Articles with the highest citation
The articles with the highest citation as well as their authors and
year of publication are shown in Table 3. Fig. 7 shows the visuali-
zation of authors with the most cited articles represented in Table 3
and the link between the published articles and other authors in
terms of citation. McLellan et al. (2011) had the highest single
article citation of 483 on their work “Costs and carbon emissions for
geopolymer pastes in comparison to ordinary Portland cement”.
However, Nath & Sarker (2014, 2015) had two documents with
citations of 257 and 109 respectively. Also, Provis (2014) had a
single document citation of 289 and document citation of 231
together with Bernal (Provis and Bernal, 2014). Bernal also has a
combined document citation of 221 with Provis and others (Bernal
et al., 2013), and a combined citation with Provis of 134 (Bernal and
Provis, 2014). Provis and Bernal were identified as some of the most
cited authors on geopolymer concrete. The visualization shows the
co-citation network between the authors involved in the study of
geopolymer concrete. The closeness of the documents shows how
interrelated they are with each other in terms of citation.
3.5. Authors with the highest citation
The number of citations of a scholar shows the level of impact a
scholar has on a particular field (Yu and Hayes, 2018). Table 4 shows
various authors with their total citation in the area of geopolymer
concrete as extracted from the scopus database in the subject area.
From the foregoing, it is seen that Provis, J.L has a total citation of
2129 and a document count of 29 giving him an average citation
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353

Table 1 citations compared to Vandeventer, J.S.J who had less than 30

Keywords. documents.
S/N Keywords Occurrences Total link strength

1 Aggregates 184 1940 3.6. Impact of research institutions

2 Binders 254 2787
3 Blast furnaces 195 2348 Table 5 and Fig. 9 show the research institutions with the most
4 Cements 324 3518
impact on the study of geopolymer concrete. The university of Mel-
5 Compressive strength 889 8376
6 Concretes 932 8921
bourne and Curtin University both located in Australia have had the
7 Curing 295 3307 biggest influence on geopolymer concrete research with 797 and 743
8 Durability 181 1753 citation respectively. The visualization however shows that there is
9 Fly ash 969 8700 very little collaboration between the research institutions involved in
10 Geopolymer 678 5408
geopolymer concrete research. This result shows the need for
11 Geopolymer concrete 768 6298
12 Geopolymers 1277 11,898 continuous collaborative research efforts by institutions and donors,
13 Inorganic polymers 1319 12,281 as only 9 institutions have total link strength. Australia has the highest
14 Mechanical properties 259 2580 number of research institutions involved in geopolymer concrete
15 Ordinary portland cement 255 2775
research followed by the United Kingdom and India.
16 Portland cement 500 5431
17 Reinforced concrete 152 1212
18 Silicates 305 3623 3.7. Countries
19 Slags 351 3846
20 Sodium hydroxide 221 2279
Table 6 highlights the countries where most of the research for
geopolymer concrete were carried out. These results show that
Australia has the highest research impact with a citation of 7132
count of 73 per document. Following closely on the citation count and a document count of 317. India, Malaysia, and the United
are Bernal, S.A., Chindaprasirt, P., Sarker, and Vandeventer, J.S.J with Kingdom had a citation count of 2672, 2636, and 2449 respectively,
citation scores of 1069, 1033, 1092, and 997. Table 4 shows the also making them top impactful countries on geopolymer concrete
number of single-authored documents and citations, while Fig. 8 research. Fig. 10 shows a combined document count per country
shows the total number of single-authored and co-authored doc- with India having the highest number with well over 550 docu-
uments produced by an author in the scopus database. From the ments and followed closely by Australia with over 350 documents.
Table 4 and Fig. 8, it is observed that Provis, J.L is the most influ- The number of documents, citations and total link strength
ential researcher in terms of citation and documents produced both show the level of impact each country has had in the development
as a single-author and a co-author. Also, Chindaprasirt, P and of geopolymer concrete. The total link strength shows that docu-
Vandeventer, J.S.J have had a great impact on the study of geo- ments from each country has had an impact on one or more
polymer concrete. However, the results show that the number of countries involved in these researches, with Australia and Malaysia
documents produced does not translate to impact as can be seen having the highest total link strength. Fig. 11 shows the visualiza-
with Abdullahi, M.M.A.B who had over 35 documents but less tion of the co-citation relationship between the countries.

Fig. 4. Visualization of keywords.

6
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353

Table 2
Sources of documents.

S/N Source Documents Citations Total link strength

1 ACI materials journal 19 292 120

2 Advanced materials research 34 93 18
3 Applied clay science 7 167 22
4 Asian journal of civil engineering 19 146 63
5 Cement and concrete composites 25 784 206
6 Cement and concrete research 14 596 141
7 Ceramics international 19 565 114
8 Composites part b: engineering 21 536 23
9 Construction and building materials 242 6473 1383
10 Engineering structures 9 134 48
11 Indian concrete journal 28 106 42
12 International journal of civil engineering and technology 67 166 55
13 IOP conference series: materials science and engineering 96 78 128
14 Journal of cleaner production 50 1754 359
15 Journal of materials in civil engineering 34 471 140
16 Magazine of concrete research 21 251 106
17 Materials 23 245 120
18 Materials and design 16 1140 288
19 Materials and structures/materiaux et constructions 18 773 178
20 Materials letters 7 126 16
21 Materials science forum 55 161 40
22 Procedia engineering 22 277 77
23 Resources, conservation and recycling 6 93 27

Fig. 5. Visualization of document source.

4. Findings and discussion
The Scientometric analysis and visualization of the bibliographic
data were carried out and provide an insight into the most influential
publication sources; most used keywords; most active and influen-
tial researchers; most active institutions, and literature with the
highest impact; all of which make up the objectives of this study.
From the analysis, clusters were identified which grouped the liter-
ature based on the similarity of their keywords and abstract. The
clusters provided a picture of the current state-of-the-art in geo-
polymer concrete. The review of current and past literature helped
identify gaps that still exist in the study of geopolymer concrete.
Compared to OPC concrete, the development and research into
geopolymer concrete is still in its early stages. Though tremendous
strides have been made to bring the great potential of geopolymer
concrete to the limelight in the last decade, there is still a gap that
exists between research, application and adoption. Despite its
promise, there are areas highlighted by various studies which show
that there is need for further research into the most fundamental
properties of geopolymer concrete at its present state which have
not been fully addressed (Van Deventer et al., 2012; Van Deventer,
2016; Bondar et al., 2019; Biondi et al., 2019). The clusters identified
show that the present and future directions for geopolymer
research are grouped into, geopolymer type, material constituents,

7
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun
Fig. 6. Document source per year.
mix-design and mixing process, mechanical properties and
compressive strength, curing temperature, durability, microstruc-
ture, adoption and application.
4.1. Geopolymer type
The most popular and earliest type of geopolymer concrete
produced is fly ash-based, as a result, many scholars have studied
its properties more than any other type of geopolymer concrete.
However, despite having comparable properties to that of Portland
cement, fly ash-based geopolymer concrete has to be cured under
high temperature to attain its strength. Fly ash-based geopolymer
concrete strength gain is slow as a result of the low amount of
calcium oxide found in fly ash. The weakness in fly ash-based
geopolymer concrete has led researchers into looking at alterna-
tive materials to supplement fly ash or totally replace it as the main
ingredient of geopolymer concrete as seen from various studies
(Rovnaník et al., 2016; Dharek et al., 2019; Simon et al., 2019). Many
studies have shown that other forms of geopolymer concrete exist
which include slag-based geopolymer concrete, metakaolin-based
geopolymer concrete, and fly ash blended geopolymer concrete
containing various supplementary cementitious materials. Blended
geopolymer concrete seeks to address the issues observed in the
properties of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete by blending
metakaolin, slag, volcanic ash, OPC cement, calcium aluminate
cement, lime, graphene oxide, nano-silica, nano-fly ash, rice husk
ash, oil palm ash, and bamboo ash (Bakri et al., 2013; Kumar et al.,
2016; Wardhono et al., 2017, 2019; Cao et al., 2018; Dony et al.,
2018; Junru et al., 2019). Fig. 12 present alternative materials for
sustainable construction. Being a sustainable construction material,
GPC can be made using the various materials presented in the
figure if they meet the requirements for precursor materials used in
the production of GPC.
4.2. Material constituents
Geopolymers are made primarily using supplementary cemen-
titious materials containing aluminosilicates activated with
8
Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353
alkaline solutions. It is a novel type of concrete that seeks eco-
friendliness (Dadsetan et al., 2019; Saravanan et al., 2019). The
materials involved in the production of geopolymer concrete
include, but are not limited to, Supplementary cementitious ma-
terials (Fly ash, slag, metakaolin etc.), Alkali activators (Sodium
hydroxide (NaOH), Potassium hydroxide (KOH), sodium silicate
(Na2SiO3) and potassium silicate (K2SiO3), coarse aggregates, fine
aggregates, water, and additives (Shi et al., 2015; Hassan et al.,
2019). Studies have shown that the source of materials have an
influence on the properties of geopolymer concrete. Other mate-
rials have been used to enhance the properties of geopolymer
concrete in a bid to help with ambient curing and cater for the cost
of fly ash which is no longer seen as a waste material by several
countries. Some of these materials include rocks (Davidovits and
Davidovits, 2020), recycled aggregate (Nuaklong et al., 2018), fi-
bres (Noushini et al., 2019), brewery sludge (Okeyinka et al., 2019),
spent garnet (Muttashar et al., 2018), bottom ash (Paija et al., 2020),
rubber (Luhar et al., 2019), red mud (Hu et al., 2018), glass powder
(Xiao et al., 2020a), basaltic natural pozzolana (Moon et al., 2014),
and waste foundry sand (Bhardwaj & Kumar, 2018). The studies
carried out using these materials showed improvements on the
properties of geopolymer concrete. The molar concentrations of
alkali activators also have an influence on the properties of geo-
polymer concrete. Studies have shown that the use of sole alkali
hydroxide activation improved the workability because the vis-
cosity of alkali silicates is higher. These studies also affirm that
higher Ultrasonic Pulse Velocity (UPV) values were observed with
single alkali hydroxide as a result of dense and more compact
microstructure of the geopolymer concrete with improved
compressive strength (Provis and Bernal, 2014; Kantarcı et al.,
2019; Zannerni et al., 2020; Khalil et al., 2020).
There is some level of energy usage and emission of CO2 during
the electrolytic production of alkali hydroxides, however, the
amount of emission during the production can be upstaged if the
chlorine produced during the process can be a valuable reusable
by-product. Also, the alkali hydroxides usually have a concentration
above 5 mol, this high concentration can pose significant occupa-
tional hazard during mixing, hence they are classified as corrosive
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353

Table 3
Articles with the highest citation.

S/ Article Title Citation

N

1 Hemalatha &
Ramaswamy (2017)
2 Zhuang et al. (2016)
3 Yan et al. (2016)
4 Zhang et al. (2015)
5 Singh et al. (2015)
6 Part et al. (2015)
7 Nath & Sarker (2015)
8 Nath & Sarker (2014)
9 Ren et al. (2014)
10 Liu et al. (2014)
11 Deb et al. (2014)
12 Phoo-ngernkham et al.
(2014)
13 Provis (2014)
14 Provis (2014b)
15 Bernal & Provis (2014)
16 Palomo et al. (2014)
17 Ismail et al. (2013)
18 Bernal et al. (2013)
19 Ryu et al. (2013)
20 Turner & Collins (2013) Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2) emissions: A comparison between geopolymer and OPC cement concrete. (Turner and Collins,
21 Ariffin et al. (2013)
22 Shaikh et al. (2013)
23 Rashad (2013)
24 Ahmari et al. (2012)
25 Olivia & Nikraz (2012)
26 Van Deventer J.S.J., 2012) Technical and commercial progress in the adoption of geopolymer cement. (Van Deventer et al., 2012)
27 Imbabi et al. (2012)
28 De Vargas et al. (2011)
29 McLellan et al. (2011)
30 Elimbi et al. (2011)
31 Diaz-Loya et al. (2011)
A review on fly ash characteristics e Towards promoting high volume utilization in developing sustainable concrete (Hemalatha 102
and Ramaswamy, 2017)
Fly ash-based geopolymer: Clean production, properties and applications (Zhuang et al., 2016) 159
A review of recent research on the use of cellulosic fibres, their fibre fabric reinforced cementitious, geo-polymer and polymer 139
composites in civil engineering. (Yan et al., 2016)
Mechanical, thermal insulation, thermal resistance and acoustic absorption properties of geopolymer foam concrete. (Zhuang 149
et al., 2016)
Geopolymer concrete: A review of some recent developments. (B. Singh et al., 2015) 254
An overview on the influence of various factors on the properties of geopolymer concrete derived from industrial by-products. 139
(Part et al., 2017)
Use of OPC to improve setting and early strength properties of low calcium fly ash geopolymer concrete cured at room 109
temperature. (Nath and Sarker, 2015)
Effect of GGBFS on setting, workability and early strength properties of fly ash geopolymer concrete cured in ambient condition. 257
(Nath and Sarker, 2014)
Mechanical, thermal insulation, thermal resistance and acoustic absorption properties of geopolymer foam concrete. (Ren et al., 205
2014)
Evaluation of thermal conductivity, mechanical and transport properties of lightweight aggregate foamed geopolymer concrete. 123
(Liu et al., 2014).
The effects of ground granulated blast-furnace slag blending with fly ash and activator content on the workability and strength 216
properties of geopolymer concrete cured at ambient temperature. (Deb et al., 2014)
The effect of adding nano-SiO2 and nano-Al2O3 on properties of high calcium fly ash geopolymer cured at ambient temperature. 141
(Phoo-ngernkham et al., 2014)
Geopolymers and other alkali activated materials: Why, how, and what? (Provis and Bernal, 2014) 231
Green concrete or red herring? - Future of alkali-activated materials. (Provis, 2014) 289
Durability of alkali-activated materials: Progress and perspectives. (Bernal and Provis, 2014) 134
A review on alkaline activation: New analytical perspectives. (Palomo et al., 2014) 132
Influence of fly ash on the water and chloride permeability of alkali-activated slag mortars and concretes. (Ismail et al., 2013) 138
Gel nanostructure in alkali-activated binders based on slag and fly ash, and effects of accelerated carbonation. (Bernal et al., 2013) 221
The mechanical properties of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete with alkaline activators. (Ryu et al., 2013) 220
363
2013)
Sulfuric acid resistance of blended ash geopolymer concrete. (Ariffin et al., 2013) 142
Development of ductile fibre reinforced geopolymer composites. (Shaikh et al., 2013) 108
Metakaolin as cementitious material: History, scours, production and composition-A comprehensive overview. (Rashad, 2013) 161
Production of geopolymeric binder from blended waste concrete powder and fly ash. (Ahmari et al., 2012) 114
Properties of fly ash geopolymer concrete designed by Taguchi method. (Olivia and Nikraz, 2012) 155
295
Trends and developments in green cement and concrete technology. (Imbabi et al., 2012) 202
The effects of Na2O/SiO3 molar ratio, curing temperature and age on compressive strength, morphology and microstructure of 140
alkali-activated fly ash-based geopolymers. (De Vargas et al., 2011)
Costs and carbon emissions for geopolymer pastes in comparison to ordinary portland cement. (McLellan et al., 2011) 483
Effects of calcination temperature of kaolinite clays on the properties of geopolymer cements. (Elimbi et al., 2011) 137
Mechanical properties of fly-ash-based geopolymer concrete. (Diaz-Loya et al., 2011) 124

(Provis and Bernal, 2014; Kamseu et al., 2017). The cost component
present in the production of geopolymer concrete because of the
use of alkali activators is higher when compared to OPC concrete
(Bondar et al., 2019). Despite the challenges mentioned above,
geopolymer concrete provides technical performance with an
exceptional dimensional stability to temperatures of about 1000◦ ◦C.
The silicate gels in geopolymer concrete is credited with the
dimensional stability as a result of the high degree of connectivity
between them (Provis and Bernal, 2014). Rafeet et al. (2017) carried
out a cost benefit analysis to compare the present prices of geo-
polymer concrete and OPC concrete and found out that at normal
strength, geopolymer concrete is more expensive compared to OPC
concrete. However, they discovered that for the medium to high
strength applications, the prices remained comparable. They stated
that identifying alternative alkali activators or alternate production
processes can help reduce the price of geopolymer concrete
compared to its present cost. Fig. 13 shows some of the precursor
materials used in the production of conventional geopolymer
concrete.
Xiao et al. (2020c) conducted an analytical study using ther-
modynamic simulation to manage the phase assemblages of alkali
activated materials, given viewpoints on the nature of precursors.
In alkali-activated ternary SiO2-CaO-Al2O3 systems, stability
9
regions and weight percentage of each hydration product were
predicted and three common forms of alkaline activators (NH, NS
and NC) were assessed. The overall interactions between phase
assemblies (Fig. 14 (a) [primary phases (N50 wt%)]-NH; (b) [pri-
mary phases (N50 wt%)]-NS; (c) [primary phases (N50 wt%)]-NC),
aqueous solution pH, and starting systems chemical composition
were well recognized as seen in Fig. 14. The experimental results
presented in Fig. 15 by Bernal and Provis (2014) gives credence to
the analytical study by Xiao et al. (2020c) showing that the most
dominant gel reaction products in the aluminosilicate wastes used
in producing geopolymer are C-(N-)A-S-H and N-A-S-H. Both
studies show that precursors used in the production of geopolymer
produce the C-(N-)A-S-H and N-A-S-H in the same region as seen in
Figs. 14 and 15.
4.3. Mix-design
There is no standard mix design procedure for geopolymer
concrete. Over the past decade, researchers have tried to come up
with various mix designs for low calcium based geopolymer con-
crete. However, most of these designs are based on trial and error
approach. This is so because of the number of variables involved in
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun
Fig. 7. Visualization of documents with the highest citation.
the production of geopolymer concrete. To achieve the desired
strength and workability of a concrete sample a suitable mix design
is vital (Pavithra et al., 2016; Reddy et al., 2018; Provis et al., 2019).
Apart from the trial and error method of mix designs, the two most
popular methods are the Taguchi method and the Particle packing
fraction method. The Taguchi method has found wide usage in
other engineering disciplines but is only being used sparingly in
geopolymer concrete. The Taguchi method adopts a fractional
factorial method of design which requires a special array sets
known as orthogonal arrays (OA) for experimental designs that for
large number of variables requiring a small amount of experiments.
Uncontrollable design parameters are reduced as well as the
number of experiments using OA. The Taguchi method can be used
to evaluate a single property by optimizing the combination of
different parameters (Jithendra and Elavenil, 2020; Prusty and
Pradhan, 2020).
The packing fraction method adopts the volumetric propor-
tioning of coarse and fine aggregates based on the best possible
particle gradation curve. The idea of this method is to select a
particle size distribution that will fill up the voids between large
particles with smaller particles by optimizing the particle fraction.
The concept of the excess paste theory is adopted where the ag-
gregates are completely covered with the paste and enhance the
flowability of the concrete. Optimizing aggregate size and blends
increases workability and dimensional stability and an increase in
compressive strength at the early age (Moini et al., 2015; Li et al.,
2018; Bondar et al., 2019).
The difference between mix design methods are tested by
compressive strength testing. For these materials though, the 28
days testing age is not ideal for the determination of the eventual
properties of geopolymer concrete. This is so because the slag-
based and metakaolin-based activated mixes gain the final
strength earlier than 28 days. While the fly ash-based mixes
10
Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353
continue to gain strength beyond the 28 days testing age (Provis
et al., 2019). Fig. 16 provides an example of mix design for GPC.
The design is based on specified strength requirement which is
similar to OPC concrete design albeit with different precursor
materials for binder.
4.4. Curing temperature
There is a difference between the curing method used for geo-
polymer concrete and that of OPC concrete. OPC concrete requires
curing in water while geopolymer concrete relies on heat curing
(steam curing and dry curing) and air (ambient curing). The geo-
polymerization process is dependent heat for activation (Jindal,
2019). Most of the works done on geopolymer concrete have
focused on curing geopolymer concrete at high temperatures
which limits its use to precast elements. When cured under higher
temperature, geopolymer concrete experiences rapid loss of water
which results in drying shrinkage which can cause tensile and
shear stresses resulting in cracks (Biondi et al., 2019). Studies have
shown that low-calcium fly ash-based geopolymer concrete exhibit
great mechanical properties when heat curing (temperatures above
50
Ce120
C) is used, while it performed badly during ambient
curing (Rangan and Hardjito, 2005; Neupane, 2016; Jindal, 2018;
Nurruddin, 2018).
In order to address the problem of ambient curing, many studies
have blended fly ash with other materials such as granulated blast
furnace slag (Kumar et al., 2016), metakaolin (Zhang et al., 2020),
OPC (Askarian et al., 2018), volcanic ash (Wardhono et al., 2017),
nano silica (Çevik et al., 2018) etc. to produce ambient cured geo-
polymer concrete. These blended concrete showed improvement in
their mechanical properties when cured under ambient conditions
with curing temperatures ranging from 23
C to 47
C (Hadi et al.,
2017; Cao et al., 2018; Jindal, 2018; Gholampour et al., 2019;
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353

Table 4 high-calcium fly ash under ambient conditions and under heat

Authors with the highest citation. curing. The compressive strength recorded for the samples ranged
S/N Author Documents Citations Total link strength from 19.89 to 46.69 MPa at 7 and 28days of ambient curing, and
1 Alengaram U.J. 16 375 28
40.73e49.50 MPa for heat curing at 7 and 28days.
2 Allouche E.N. 17 386 16 In a similar manner, Xiao et al. (2020a) studied some properties
3 Bernal S.A. 11 1069 20 of ambient-cured geopolymer concrete made using waste glass
4 Bnhussain M. 7 236 24 powder and observing that the waste glass acted as an inert filler to
5 Castel A. 25 393 31
the matrix in the first 14 days. However, after 14 days the reaction
6 Cheah C.B. 5 191 5
7 Chen L. 5 248 5 rate increased and improved the compressive strength at 28 days.
8 Chindaprasirt P. 35 1033 48 The study reported an environmental impact consideration after a
9 Cioffi R. 12 315 26 leaching test showed the leaching of alkaline solution. This phe-
10 Colangelo F. 11 326 25
nomenon should be taken care of during the mix design. These
11 Elimbi A. 7 298 9
12 Ferone C. 11 301 26
studies provide a basis for the further investigation into the use of
13 Foster S.J. 8 185 7 high-calcium fly ash in producing ambient cured geopolymer
14 Hussin K. 18 156 55 concrete over an extended period of time to study other concrete
15 Hussin M.W. 10 304 9 properties. Fig. 17 presents the relationship between the
16 Jumaat M.Z. 14 343 27
compressive strength and curing temperature of geopolymer con-
17 Kamarudin H. 24 498 65
18 Kayali O. 13 224 17 crete. The figure indicates a higher strength for specimens cured
19 Khennane A. 10 184 14 using heat as compared with samples cured using ambient
20 Kupwade-Patil K. 10 182 13 temperature.
21 Mehta A. 8 192 8
22 Mo K.H. 7 197 16
23 Mohamed Ali M.S. 10 192 24
4.5. Mechanical properties
24 Mustafa Al Bakri A.M. 10 285 25
25 Nath P. 10 721 10 In studying effect of steel slag on fresh, hardened and micro-
26 Nikraz H. 5 228 3 structural properties of high-calcium fly ash based geopolymers at
27 Nuruddin M.F. 16 276 27
standard curing condition, Song et al. (2019), observed a strong
28 Olivia M. 7 190 2
29 Pacheco-Torgal F. 14 235 15 relationship between the compressive strength of hardened geo-
30 Pan Z. 10 214 9 polymer paste and sorptivity, capillary pore volume, and porosity.
31 Panda B. 13 318 17 They also stated that the modulus of elasticity showed a linear
32 Provis J.L. 29 2129 35 increase with the root mean square of the compressive strength.
33 Rafiza A.R. 11 214 42
34 Ramli M. 7 207 5
Part et al. (2015), highlighted the presence of micro-cracks in
35 Rangan B.V. 5 156 9 geopolymer concrete samples cured at high temperature, sug-
36 Rüscher C.H. 18 180 43 gesting that the loss of moisture during curing results in the for-
37 Sanjayan J. 25 263 36 mation of micro-cracks. Hadi et al. (2019), observed that the
38 Sanjayan J.G. 20 409 22
inclusion of Ground Granulated Blast Furnace Slag (GGBFS) increase
39 Sarker P.K. 22 1092 16
40 Sata V. 20 680 39 the Calcium Oxide (CaO) content which invariably increased the
41 Shafiq N. 13 243 24 compressive strength of the concrete and also decreased its setting
42 Shaikh F.U.A. 9 231 0 time. However, Adam (2009), Barnard (2014), Mohamed (2019) and
43 Singh N.B. 12 191 14 (Wang et al., 2019) observed a degree of drying shrinkage and high
44 Tan M.J. 11 241 17
45 Van Deventer J.S.J. 15 997 22
rate of carbonation when slag was added to geopolymer. Nurruddin
46 Wang H. 11 619 18 et al. (2018) noted that most of the studies carried out on geo-
47 Wongsa A. 9 160 24 polymer concrete focused on its strength properties compared to
48 Zarina Y. 10 200 41 other properties of concrete, hence the need for more studies into
49 Zhang Z. 19 592 26
non-strength properties of concrete.
Jiang et al. (2020) studied the properties of fly ash-based geo-
polymer paste together with OPC paste subjected to an elevated
temperature of 1200
C and observed that the relationship that
Hassan et al., 2019). Hasanah et al. (2018), explored the role of exists between the compressive and bond strength samples were
curing conditions on the compressive strength of geopolymer linear. However, the study also observed a smaller loss of mass and
mortar based on FA-POFA (palm oil fuel ash). The results revealed compressive strength in geopolymer paste as compared to OPC
how the compressive strength of the geopolymer mortar increased paste which implies a better bond behavior, and stable phase
as a result of temperature increase; the latency time before curing changes for geopolymer concrete at elevated temperature. Topark-
reduces the compressive strength of the geopolymer mortar and Ngarm et al. (2015) also reported an increase in bond strength as
the heat curing duration observed was within one to two days. well as higher splitting tensile strength in geopolymer concrete.
Nonetheless, FA-POFA-based geopolymer mortar ‘s compressive In a study to look at the influence changes in the percentage of
strength (35 MPa) decreases at temperatures above 90
C. geopolymer precursors, Kumar et al. (2018) reported that for every
Al Bakri et al. (2013) used high-calcium nano fly ash as precursor variation in content of GGBFS, there was an accompanying change
to geopolymer concrete with the results showing compressive in compressive and splitting tensile strength. Tennakoon (2016)
strengths between 61 MPa for 1 day and 65 MPa for 7 days when observed that geopolymer concrete ‘s flexural capacity was signif-
cured under a temperature of 70
C. In a study conducted by Phoo- icantly greater than that of OPC. Geopolymer concrete showed
Ngernkham et al. (2018) to produce ambient-cured geopolymer flexural strengths of about 10.5% of the compressive strength,
concrete using high-calcium fly ash, a compressive strength of which is high compared to that of OPC concrete. Ahmed et al.
15e35 MPa were obtained after curing at ambient temperature for (2020) stated that there was a decrease in deflection as well as
28 days. Also, Topark-Ngarm et al. (2015), presented a study on the incremental appearance of first cracking load as well as a rise in
setting time, strength, and bond of geopolymer concrete made with compressive strength of geopolymer concrete with a low crack
11
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353

Table 5
Impact of research institutions.

S/N Institutions Documents Citation Total Link Strength

1 Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Malaysia 5 78 0

2 Csir-Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai, India 6 123 2
3 University of Melbourne, Australia 8 797 4
4 University of Castilla e La Mancha, Spain 7 137 5
5 College of Engineering Trivandrum, Kerala, India 5 52 0
6 University of Basrah, Iraq 6 49 11
7 Curtin University, Gpo Australia 9 743 0
8 Curtin University, Perth, Australia 7 189 0
9 University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 8 128 0
10 Monash University, Clayton, Australia 5 130 0
11 Technical University of Cartagena, Spain 5 111 5
12 University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom 5 448 4
13 €t Hannover, Hannover, Germany
Leibniz Universita 10 113 5
14 King Abdul Aziz City Science and Technology (Kacst), Saudi Arabia 5 102 0
15 Sharda University, Greater Noida, India 9 180 0
16 Sastra University, Thanjavur, India 5 55 0
17 University of Adelaide, Australia 7 172 0
18 University of Wollongong, Australia 7 53 0
19 University of Brighton, Brighton, United Kingdom 6 98 10
20 University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom 6 49 11
21 Nanyang Technological University, Nanyang, Singapore 5 175 0
22 South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China 6 64 0
23 Khon Kaen University, Khon, Thailand 10 146 0
24 University Of South Carolina, United States 5 83 0

Fig. 8. Documents by authors.

width in beams reinforced with carbon fibre compared to OPC
concrete beams. Yacob et al. (2019) found reinforced fly ash-based
geopolymer concrete having comparable shear strength with
reinforced OPC concrete. Also, Tran et al. (2019) carried out an
experimental and analytical study on steel fibre reinforced beams
made with ambient-cured geopolymer concrete and posited that
geopolymer concrete beams showed great cracking resistance,
ductility and serviceability compared to OPC beams used as
reference samples. In their study on fly ash-based polyvinyl alcohol
fibre reinforced geopolymer concrete, Kan et al. (2020) reported an
upper limit of 8.62% strain capacity which represents a high tensile
strength property of the geopolymer concrete.
A low drying shrinkage is a desirability for geopolymer concrete.
Mixtures activated with sodium silicate showed markedly greater
autogenous shrinkage, but lower drying shrinkage values at lower
alkali modulus. The excessive micro-cracking observed was for

12
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353

Fig. 9. Visualization of research institutions.

Table 6 4.6. Durability

Countries where most of the researches were conducted.

S/N Countries Documents Citation Total link strength The durability of concrete is its ability to resist to a large extent,
1 Australia 317 7132 144
weathering, abrasion, diffusion of gasses, absorption of dangerous
2 Brazil 30 359 11 liquids, and still retain its properties through its service life. For
3 Cameroon 29 666 44 embedded steel reinforcement to be protected from corrosion,
4 Canada 34 444 31 concrete must be durable. Albitar et al. (2017) studied the durability
5 China 187 1605 86
of geopolymer concrete and conventional OPC concrete and found
6 Egypt 23 415 4
7 Germany 41 463 47 out that the general durability properties of geopolymer concrete
8 India 538 2672 30 was superior to that of OPC concrete especially when exposed to
9 Indonesia 104 388 56 chemical attack. Shill et al. (2020) highlighted the performance of
10 Iran 23 249 17 fly ash-based geopolymer mortar to chemicals and high thermal
11 Italy 65 892 58
cycles. Using hydrocarbon fluids (HF) and 60 cycles of heat expo-
12 Japan 26 855 21
13 Malaysia 185 2636 109 sure, the study stated that every geopolymer mortar sample
14 New Zealand 11 283 17 exhibited saponification and a subsequent 42.52% (at 3 days) to
15 Portugal 24 284 43 33.85% (at 28 days) loss of compressive strength. However, ambient
16 Saudi Arabia 30 555 36
cured geopolymer mortar exposed to hydrocarbon fluids did not
17 Singapore 22 388 8
18 South Korea 29 371 18
suffer saponification, and the loss in compressive strength was
19 Spain 28 485 38 negligible. The mineralogical composition, alkali activator concen-
20 Thailand 59 1228 26 tration and exposure time have an influence on the acid attack
21 Turkey 40 247 24 mechanism which is also dependent on the concentration of the
22 United Kingdom 72 2449 67
acid (Okoye et al., 2017). Geopolymer concrete has a dimensional
23 United States 138 1577 57
stability to temperatures of about 1000◦ ◦C due to the presence of
silicate gels which provides exceptional technical properties giving
binder matrix that was activated using non-fly ash mixes and it a far superior fire resistance compared to OPC concrete (Provis
activated with higher alkali modulus in silicate solution as observed and Bernal, 2014; Hassan et al., 2019).
by Humad et al. (2019) and Hassan et al. (2019). Xiao et al. (2020b) There is so much work to be done on the durability properties of
used glass powder as a precursor to geopolymer concrete with geopolymer concrete as there are only a few studies pertaining its
recycled waste glass aggregate for stabilized road bases and re- durability. Test methods and validation techniques for geopolymer
ported a reduction in drying shrinkage with a reduction in concrete remains a major challenge as regulatory standards are
compressive strength. However, samples cured under high tem- designed for only OPC concrete. The available test methods for OPC
perature and relative humidity showed better mechanical proper- concrete will need validation for it to be adopted for geopolymer
ties. Fig. 18 presents the performance of GPC and OPC concrete concrete. A sustained study into durability studies of geopolymer
under elevated temperature. It can be observed from the figure that concrete will lead to updates in standards as advancement in sci-
GPC performs better with increase in temperature as seen in the entific knowledge of this novel material can drive adoption by
loss of strength of the samples. regulatory agencies, hence, promoting the adoption and utilization

13
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353

Fig. 10. Documents by country.

Fig. 11. Visualization of Co-citation relationship by country.

14
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun
Fig. 12. Alternative materials for sustainable concrete production (Serdar et al., 2019).
of this material (Provis, 2014; Provis et al., 2019; Gluth et al., 2020).
Fig. 19 gives a comparison on the performance of OPC concrete and
GPC exposed to acid environments. The figure show that GPC
performs better in acid environments with less loss in compressive
strength compared to OPC concrete.
4.7. Microstructure
Awoyera et al. (2018), highlighted the influence of the interfacial
synergy between the aggregates, paste, and interconnectivity of
pores and cracks on the general strength of geopolymer concrete.
Zainal et al. (2015), tested the electrical resistivity of geopolymer
concrete using the wenner four-point probe and found the concrete
adequate in resisting the electrical current applied as well as
negligible corrosion rate in the reinforcement when compared to
OPC concrete. Since electrical resistivity is dependent on the
interfacial bonding as well as interconnectivity of the pores in the
concrete, geopolymer concrete possesses a denser microstructure
than OPC concrete. However, Cai et al. (2020) pointed out that the
electrical resistivity of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete has a
greater resistivity than metakaolin-based geopolymer concrete. In
15
Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353
studying the micro structure of Geopolymer concrete using Ultra-
sonic Pulse Velocity (UPV), Scan Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier
Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray Diffraction (XDR)
and Fluorescence X-ray Spectroscopy (XRF), Alehyen et al. (2017),
Kaur et al. (2018) and (Kantarcı et al., 2019) posited that the
strength of geopolymer concrete increased based on its micro-
structural density.
Karthik et al. (2019) considered the use of bio-additives in
geopolymer concrete and also concluded that there was an increase
in the density of the microstructure of the concrete which also
resulted in higher compressive strength. These findings agree with
other findings made using nano-silica, silica fume, nano-aluminate,
graphene oxide, etc. (Alomayri, 2019; Prabha and Revathi, 2019).
Despite these promising microstructural properties, there is very
limited research into the microstructure of geopolymer concrete;
long-term studies under different environmental conditions will
shed more light on the internal workings of geopolymer concrete.
Results obtained from these studies show that concrete cured un-
der high temperature have denser microstructure which points to
the fact that there is a need for alternative materials and curing
regime to promote denser microstructure for ambient cured
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun
Fig. 13. Material constituents and process of making conventional geopolymer concrete (Singh and Middendorf, 2020).
geopolymer concrete. Fig. 20 shows a SEM micrograph of geo-
polymer paste highlighting voids, unreacted fly ash particles,
partially reacted fly ash particles, and polymeric gel.
4.8. Adoption and application
Geopolymer concrete technology offers a great opportunity for
the valorization of industrial and agricultural wastes to address the
issue of environmental pollution caused by dumping these wastes
in landfills. Documentation exists for the use of geopolymer-based
materials in the spheres of fire-resistant materials, new ceramics,
hazardous waste stabilization matrices, high-tech materials,
binders, and asbestos-free materials (Ferone et al., 2013; Report
et al., 2016). Central to modern civilization is cement and con-
crete for the development of infrastructure to provide a good
quality of life. It is believed that alkali-activated binders such as
geopolymer will provide a pathway for the expanded commer-
cialization, production on a large scale, and a basis for rapid un-
derstanding of research pertaining assertions of the environmental
friendliness of alkali-activated concretes. Also, the evaluation of the
most appropriate composition and transformation conditions as a
function of geographic and source materials supply chain must be
initiated (Provis and Bernal, 2014).
Geopolymer concrete has found increased use on infrastructure
such as pavements, retaining walls, boundary blocks, water tank,
road ramp, pre-cast bridge deck, aircraft pavements, pre-cast
beams in Australia (Aldred and Day, 2012; Report et al., 2016).
Other studies have shown the suitability of geopolymer concrete as
structural members, buttressing the current usage in Australia and
16
Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353
some parts of Europe. There is a growing interest in the adoption
and application of geopolymer concrete. In 2016 the government of
Japan commissioned a committee to look into the current use of
geopolymer as structural elements in other parts of the world. The
International Union of Laboratories and Experts in Construction
Materials, Systems and Structures (RILEM, from the name in
French) commissioned a committee to identify and validate
methodologies for testing the durability of alkali-activated concrete
with a total of 15 laboratories worldwide participating in the study.
Developing these test and validation method is important since
geopolymer concrete does not have a long-term track record for
durability (Report et al., 2016; Provis et al., 2019; Gluth et al., 2020).
A rapid progression of the application of geopolymer concrete is
ongoing in some parts of the world while in some other parts, the
application is slow (Zhang et al., 2014). Alkali-activated binders
when designed properly while considering their carbon-footprint
using locally-available materials hold the key as an effective
component for sustainable construction materials. It is not ex-
pected that geopolymer concrete will provide a like-for-like
replacement to OPC concrete based on the requirement for care-
ful formulation and curing, technical challenges in some form of
usage, and supply chain limitations. Furthermore, even when reg-
ulatory bodies accept the results for durability testing of geo-
polymer concrete, the ease of obtaining source materials for its
production will constitute a barrier. Also, the supply chain of
cementitious materials is based on OPC, therefore, there are regu-
latory challenges as well as product confidence that must be
overcome to facilitate the application and adoption of geopolymer
concrete. It is also important to note that users, researchers and
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353

Fig. 14. Key precipitation areas in SiO2-CaO-Al2O3 ternary phase assemblages where solid-phase formation accounts for more than 50 wt% of the simulated solid weight (Xiao et al.,
2020c).

17
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun
Fig. 15. Alkaline activated binder gel pseudo-ternary plot compositions, after 28 days of curing, assessed by SEM e EDX with binders synthesized by sodium metasilicate activation
of fly ash (FA), slag (BFS); The precursor combination is 1:1 (Bernal and Provis, 2014).
regulatory bodies appreciate the commercialization aspect of con-
crete (Van Deventer et al., 2012; Provis, 2018). Fig. 21 highlights the
areas of application of geopolymer ranging from fire resistant heat
composites, radioactive toxic encapsulation, low CO2 cement and
concrete to bricks.
4.9. Areas for further research
This review identified the following gaps requiring further
studies:
1. The desire to cure geopolymer concrete in-situ requires
materials that can reduce the setting time as well as improve
early strength gain of geopolymer concrete. Also, there has
been very few studies on bio-material use in the preparation
of geopolymer concrete.
2. There is a need for a harmonized mix design method which
can consider all the variables involved in the manufacture of
geopolymer concrete.
3. The production of alkaline activators via the electrolysis of
salts produces CO2, therefore new bio-materials are required
for the synthesis of alkaline solutions to replace the more
expensive alkaline solutions in the market.
4. The use of single-alkaline activator was seen to improve
strength of geopolymer concrete; further long-term studies
are required to validate this finding.
5. Having different variables for its design mix, further long-
term durability studies are required to provide test
methods and validation techniques since most studies focus
on the 28-day curing regime.
6. Admixtures available in the market are produced based on
the properties of OPC. Since the mechanism of geopolymer
concrete is different from OPC concrete, there is need to find
alternative admixtures for geopolymer concrete.
7. There is a very limited research on the microstructural
properties of geopolymer concrete. Further studies are
18
Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353
required to fully understand the microstructural behavior of
geopolymer concrete.
8. In the production of geopolymer concrete, researches seem
to focus more on concentration of alkaline solution and
temperature. However, all the factors that affect the rates of
chemical reaction for liquids and solids should be consid-
ered, therefore emphasis should also be placed on the sur-
face area of the solid reactants since chemical reactions take
place at the nano and atomic level.
9. This study observed that there is little attempt in developing
predictive models for strength and durability properties for
service life prediction of geopolymer concrete.
10. There is still a gap between research and adoption of geo-
polymer concrete by industry as a result of the lack of long-
term studies on its properties.
4.10. Limitations
Using a data-driven methodology, this study will be influenced
by the quality of data collected. Despite collecting the data using a
scientometric method of data mining, the combination of terms
selected logically cannot guarantee that alternate publications were
also collected because some studies might adopt “green concrete”
instead of “geopolymer concrete” or “alkali activated concrete”.
Also, the study was limited to the Scopus database as it provided
the largest collection of publications on geopolymer concrete
compared to the Web of Science (WOS) database. When other non-
English publications are considered, search term frequency are
likely to increase. Furthermore, depending on their co-occurrences
in the mined publications, VOSviewer clustered and visualized the
keywords under specific themes. The contents of the clusters
mostly matched the themes of the clusters they were attached to.
The sensitivity of the data is shown when similar keywords are
contained in different clusters. However, with all of these limita-
tions to the study, a significant change to the findings and con-
clusions are not expected.
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353

Fig. 16. An example of mix-design procedure for geopolymer concrete (Li et al., 2019).

5. Conclusions

This review adopted the big data mining concept of sciento-

metric analysis for scientific literature and an in-depth discussion
of findings to highlight the present state-of-the-art on geo-
polymer concrete. As research in the field of geopolymer concrete
increases, researchers are faced with an overload of information
which might hinder advantageous research efforts and collabo-
ration among researchers. There is therefore a need to identify and
adopt a methodology that helps the researcher mine valuable data
from the most reliable databases. With literature reviews being
Fig. 17. Relationship between compressive strength and curing condition of GPC
liable to subjective biases, scientometric techniques can enhance
(Hassan et al., 2019a).
the review method by using computational power to help address
this weakness.

19
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353

Fig. 18. A comparison of compressive strength of GPC and OPC concrete under elevated temperature (Hassan et al., 2020b).

Fig. 19. Comparison of compressive strength of fly ash GPC activated with Na2SiO3 and NaOH solution, and OPC specimens exposed to 5% Na2SO4 and MgSO4 (Hassan et al., 2019b).

Fig. 20. SEM micrograph of geopolymer paste (Alehyen et al., 2017).

20
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun
Fig. 21. Areas of application of geopolymer (Davidovits, 2018).
This study identified the keywords and their frequency of
occurrence with geopolymer and inorganic polymers being the
most used. Other entities such as most influential documents, most
influential authors, most influential institutions as well as countries
involved in the study of geopolymer concrete were identified and
visualized together with their citation and link strength. Also, this
study identified clusters which placed similar publications
together. The clusters identified were thematic and grouped into
geopolymer type, material constituents, mix-design and mixing
process, mechanical properties and compressive strength, curing
temperature, durability, microstructure, adoption and application.
Furthermore, the study identified gaps in the present-state-of-the-
art in geopolymer concrete that require further studies.
Funding
This study received no external funding.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing
financial interests or personal relationships that could have
appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
References
Adam, A.A., 2009. Strength and Durability Properties of Alkali Activated Slag and Fly
Ash-Based Geopolymer Concrete the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (August).
Aghaei Chadegani, A., Salehi, H., Md Yunus, M.M., Farhadi, H., Fooladi, M.,
21
Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353
Farhadi, M., Ale Ebrahim, N., 2013. A comparison between two main academic
literature collections: web of science and scopus databases. Asian Soc. Sci. 9 (5),
18e26. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v9n5p18.
Ahmari, S., Ren, X., Toufigh, V., Zhang, L., 2012. Production of geopolymeric binder
from blended waste concrete powder and fly ash. Construct. Build. Mater. 35,
718e729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.04.044.
Ahmed, H.Q., Jaf, D.K., Yaseen, S.A., 2020. Flexural strength and failure of geo-
polymer concrete beams reinforced with carbon fibre-reinforced polymer bars.
Construct. Build. Mater. 231, 117185. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.conbuildmat.2019.117185.
Albitar, M., Mohamed Ali, M.S., Visintin, P., Drechsler, M., 2017. Durability evaluation
of geopolymer and conventional concretes. Construct. Build. Mater. 136 (April
2019), 374e385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.01.056.
Aldred, J., Day, J., 2012. Is geopolymer concrete a suitable Alternative to traditional
Concrete ? 37th Conference on Our World in Concrete & Structures August,
1e14.
Alehyen, S., El Achouri, M., Taibi, M., 2017. Characterization, microstructure and
properties of fly ash-based geopolymer. J. Mater. Environ. Sci. 8 (5), 1783e1796.
Alomayri, T., 2019. Experimental study of the microstructural and mechanical
properties of geopolymer paste with nano material (Al2O3). J. Bulild. Eng. 25
(February), 100788. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2019.100788.
Ariffin, M.A.M., Bhutta, M.A.R., Hussin, M.W., Mohd Tahir, M., Aziah, N., 2013. Sul-
furic acid resistance of blended ash geopolymer concrete. Construct. Build.
Mater. 43, 80e86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.01.018.
Askarian, M., Tao, Z., Adam, G., Samali, B., 2018. Mechanical properties of ambient
cured one-part hybrid OPC-geopolymer concrete. Construct. Build. Mater. 186,
330e337. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.07.160.
Awoyera, P.O., Akinmusuru, J.O., Dawson, A.R., Ndambuki, J.M., Thom, N.H., 2018.
Microstructural characteristics, porosity and strength development in ceramic-
laterized concrete. Cement Concr. Compos. 86, 224e237. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2017.11.017.
Bakri, A.M.M.A., Kamarudin, H., Bnhussain, M., Liyana, J., Ruzaidi, C.M., 2013. Nano
geopolymer for sustainable concrete using fly ash synthesized by high energy
ball milling. Appl. Mech. Mater. 313e314, 169e173. https://doi.org/10.4028/
www.scientific.net/AMM.313-314.169.
Barnard, R., 2014. Mechanical Properties of Fly Ash/slag Based Geopolymer Concrete
with the Addition of Macro Fibres. Stellenbosch University, December. Masters.
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun
Bernal, S.A., Provis, J.L., 2014. Durability of alkali-activated materials: progress and
perspectives. J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 97 (4), 997e1008. https://doi.org/10.1111/
jace.12831.
Bernal, S.A., Provis, J.L., Walkley, B., San Nicolas, R., Gehman, J.D., Brice, D.G.,
Kilcullen, A.R., Duxson, P., Van Deventer, J.S.J., 2013. Gel nanostructure in alkali-
activated binders based on slag and fly ash, and effects of accelerated carbon-
ation. Cement Concr. Res. 53, 127e144. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.cemconres.2013.06.007.
Bhardwaj, B., Kumar, P., 2018. Effect of waste foundry sand addition on strength,
permeability and microstructure of ambient cured geopolymer concrete. IOP
Conf. Ser. Mater. Sci. Eng. 431 (9) https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/431/9/
092009.
Biondi, L., Perry, M., Vlachakis, C., Wu, Z., Hamilton, A., McAlorum, J., 2019. Ambient
cured fly ash geopolymer coatings for concrete. Materials 16 (6). https://doi.org/
10.3390/ma12060923.
Bondar, D., Nanukuttan, S., Provis, J.L., Soutsos, M., 2019. Efficient mix design of
alkali activated slag concretes based on packing fraction of ingredients and
paste thickness. J. Clean. Prod. 218, 438e449. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2019.01.332.
Cai, J., Pan, J., Li, X., Tan, J., Li, J., 2020. Electrical resistivity of fly ash and metakaolin
based geopolymers. Construct. Build. Mater. 234, 117868. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.117868.
Cao, Y.-F., Tao, Z., Pan, Z., Wuhrer, R., 2018. Effect of calcium aluminate cement on
geopolymer concrete cured at ambient temperature. Construct. Build. Mater.
191, 242e252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.09.204.
Çevik, A., Alzeebaree, R., Humur, G., Niş, A., Gülşan, M.E., 2018. Effect of nano-silica
on the chemical durability and mechanical performance of fly ash based geo-
polymer concrete. Ceram. Int. 44 (11), 12253e12264. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.ceramint.2018.04.009.
Dadsetan, S., Siad, H., Lachemi, M., Sahmaran, M., 2019. Construction and demoli-
tion waste in geopolymer concrete technology: a review. Mag. Concr. Res. 71
(23), 1232e1252. https://doi.org/10.1680/jmacr.18.00307.
Darko, A., Chan, A.P.C., Huo, X., Owusu-Manu, D.G., 2019. A scientometric analysis
and visualization of global green building research. Build. Environ. 149,
501e511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.12.059. November 2018.
Davidovits, P.J., 2018. Why alkali-activated materials ( AAM ) are NOT Geo-
polymers ? https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.34337.25441.
Davidovits, J., Davidovits, R., 2020. Ferro-sialate geopolymers ( -Fe-O-Si-O-Al-O- ).
Ferro-sialate geopolymers. Technical Papers # 27, Geopolymer Institute Library,
pp. 1e6. https://doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.25792.89608/2. January.
De Vargas, A.S., Dal Molin, D.C.C., Vilela, A.C.F., Silva, F.J.D., Pava ~o, B., Veit, H., 2011.
The effects of Na2O/SiO3 molar ratio, curing temperature and age on
compressive strength, morphology and microstructure of alkali-activated fly
ash-based geopolymers. Cement Concr. Compos. 33 (6), 653e660. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2011.03.006.
Deb, P.S., Nath, P., Sarker, P.K., 2014. The effects of ground granulated blast-furnace
slag blending with fly ash and activator content on the workability and strength
properties of geopolymer concrete cured at ambient temperature. Mater. Des.
62, 32e39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2014.05.001.
Deventer, Jannie S J Van, Provis, J.L., Duxson, P., 2012. Technical and commercial
progress in the adoption of geopolymer cement. Miner. Eng. 29, 89e104.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2011.09.009.
Dharek, M.S., Sunagar, P., Bhanu Tej, K.V., Naveen, S.U., 2019. Fresh and hardened
properties of self-consolidating concrete incorporating alumina silicates. In:
Lecture Notes in Civil Engineering, 25. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-
3317-0_62.
Diaz-Loya, E.I., Allouche, E.N., Vaidya, S., 2011. Mechanical properties of fly-ash-
based geopolymer concrete. ACI Mater. J. 108 (3), 300e306. https://www.
scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid¼2-s2.0-79957853353&
partnerID¼40&md5¼e484cd606f4bdee90fc11b8bcdceae35.
Dony, W., Saloma, Astira, I.F., 2018. Oil palm ash-based geopolymer mortar with
variation Na2SiO3 and NaOH ratio. AIP Conference Proceedings 2030, 020104.
https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5066745.
Elimbi, A., Tchakoute, H.K., Njopwouo, D., 2011. Effects of calcination temperature of
kaolinite clays on the properties of geopolymer cements. Construct. Build.
Mater. 25 (6), 2805e2812. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2010.12.055.
Ferone, C., Colangelo, F., Roviello, G., Asprone, D., Menna, C., Balsamo, A., Prota, A.,
Cioffi, R., Manfredi, G., 2013. Application-oriented chemical optimization of a
metakaolin based geopolymer. Materials 6 (5), 1920e1939. https://doi.org/
10.3390/ma6051920.
Frehe, V., Rugaitis, V., Teuteberg, F., 2014. Scientometrics: how to perform a big data
trend analysis with ScienceMiner. Lecture Notes in Informatics (LNI). In: Pro-
ceedings - Series of the Gesellschaft Fur Informatik (GI), P-232(February),
pp. 1699e1710.
Gholampour, A., Ozbakkaloglu, T., Ng, C.-T., 2019. Ambient- and oven-cured geo-
polymer concretes under active confinement. Construct. Build. Mater. 228
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.116722.
Gla€nzel, W., Zhang, L., 2018. Scientometric research assessment in the developing
world: a tribute to Michael J. Moravcsik from the perspective of the twenty-first
century. Scientometrics 115 (3), 1517e1532. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-018-
2647-4.
Gluth, G.J.G., Arbi, K., Bernal, S.A., Bondar, D., 2020. RILEM TC 247-DTA round robin
test : carbonation and chloride penetration testing of alkali-activated concretes
RILEM TC 247-DTA round robin test : carbonation and chloride penetration
testing of alkali-activated concretes. Mater. Struct. 3 (February) https://doi.org/
22
Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353
10.1617/s11527-020-1449-3.
Hadi, M.N.S., Farhan, N.A., Sheikh, M.N., 2017. Design of geopolymer concrete with
GGBFS at ambient curing condition using Taguchi method. Construct. Build.
Mater. 140, 424e431. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.02.131.
Hadi, M.N.S., Zhang, H., Parkinson, S., 2019. Optimum mix design of geopolymer
pastes and concretes cured in ambient condition based on compressive
strength, setting time and workability. J. Bulild. Eng. 23, 301e313. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2019.02.006.
Hasanah, N., Shukor, A., Samadi, M., Ariffin, N.F., 2018. Effect of curing conditions on
compressive strength of FA-POFA-based geopolymer mortar effect of curing
conditions on compressive strength of FA- POFA-based geopolymer mortar.
https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/431/9/092007.
Hassan, Amer, Arif, M., Shariq, M., 2019a. Effect of curing condition on the me-
chanical properties of fly ash-based geopolymer concrete. SN Appl. Sci. 1 (12)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s42452-019-1774-8.
Hassan, Amer, Arif, M., Shariq, M., 2019b. Use of geopolymer concrete for a cleaner
and sustainable environment e a review of mechanical properties and micro-
structure. J. Clean. Prod. 223, 704e728. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2019.03.051.
Hassan, Amer, Arif, M., Shariq, M., 2020a. A review of properties and behaviour of
reinforced geopolymer concrete structural elements- A clean technology option
for sustainable development. J. Clean. Prod. 245 https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2019.118762.
Hassan, Amer, Arif, M., Shariq, M., 2020b. Mechanical behaviour and microstruc-
tural investigation of geopolymer concrete after exposure to elevated temper-
atures. Arabian J. Sci. Eng. 45 (5), 3843e3861. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-
019-04269-9.
Hemalatha, T., Ramaswamy, A., 2017. A review on fly ash characteristics e towards
promoting high volume utilization in developing sustainable concrete. J. Clean.
Prod. 147, 546e559. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.01.114.
Hosseini, M.R., Martek, I., Zavadskas, E.K., Aibinu, A.A., Arashpour, M., Chileshe, N.,
2018. Critical evaluation of off-site construction research: a Scientometric
analysis. Autom. ConStruct. 87, 235e247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aut-
con.2017.12.002. March.
Hu, W., Nie, Q., Huang, B., Shu, X., He, Q., 2018. Mechanical and microstructural
characterization of geopolymers derived from red mud and fly ashes. J. Clean.
Prod. 186, 799e806. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.03.086.
Humad, A.M., Kothari, A., Provis, J.L., Cwirzen, A., 2019. The effect of blast furnace
slag/fly ash ratio on setting , strength , and shrinkage of alkali-activated pastes
and concretes. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmats.2019.00009, 6, February, 1-10.
Hutchins, B.I., Yuan, X., Anderson, J.M., Santangelo, G.M., 2016. Relative citation ratio
(rcr): a new metric that uses citation rates to measure influence at the article
level. PLoS Biol. 14 (9), 1e25. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1002541.
Imbabi, M.S., Carrigan, C., McKenna, S., 2012. Trends and developments in green
cement and concrete technology. Int. J. Sus. Built. Environ. 1 (2), 194e216.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsbe.2013.05.001.
Ismail, I., Bernal, S.A., Provis, J.L., San Nicolas, R., Brice, D.G., Kilcullen, A.R.,
Hamdan, S., Van Deventer, J.S.J., 2013. Influence of fly ash on the water and
chloride permeability of alkali-activated slag mortars and concretes. Construct.
Build. Mater. 48, 1187e1201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.07.106.
Jan van Eck, N., Waltman, L., 2017. Manual for VOSviewer Versio n 1.6.6 (October).
Jiang, X., Xiao, R., Zhang, M., Hu, W., Bai, Y., Huang, B., 2020. A laboratory investi-
gation of steel to fly ash-based geopolymer paste bonding behavior after
exposure to elevated temperatures. Construct. Build. Mater. 254, 119267.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.119267.
Jindal, Bharat Bhushan, 2018. Feasibility study of ambient cured geopolymer con-
crete -A review. Adv. Conc. Construct. 6 (4), 387e405. https://doi.org/10.12989/
acc.2018.6.4.387.
Jindal, B.B., 2019. Investigations on the properties of geopolymer mortar and con-
crete with mineral admixtures: a review. Construct. Build. Mater. 227 https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.08.025.
Jithendra, C., Elavenil, S., 2020. Influences of Parameters on Slump Flow and
Compressive Strength Properties of Aluminosilicate Based Flowable Geo-
polymer Concrete Using Taguchi Method. Siliconindia 12, 595e602. https://
doi.org/10.1007/s12633-019-00166-w.
Junru, R., Huiguo, C., Ruixi, D., Tao, S., 2019. Behavior of combined fly ash/GBFS-
based geopolymer concrete after exposed to elevated temperature. IOP Conf.
Ser. Earth Environ. Sci. 267 (3) https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/267/3/
032056.
Kamseu, E., a  Moungam, L.M., Cannio, M., Billong, N., Chaysuwan, D., Melo, U.C.,
Leonelli, C., 2017. Substitution of sodium silicate with rice husk ash-NaOH so-
lution in metakaolin based geopolymer cement concerning reduction in global
warming. J. Clean. Prod. 142, 3050e3060. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2016.10.164.
Kan, L., Zhang, L., Zhao, Y., Wu, M., 2020. Properties of polyvinyl alcohol fiber
reinforced fly ash based Engineered Geopolymer Composites with zeolite
replacement. Construct. Build. Mater. 231, 117161. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.conbuildmat.2019.117161.
_ Ekinci, E., 2019. Optimization of production parameters of
Kantarcı, F., Türkmen, I.,
geopolymer mortar and concrete: a comprehensive experimental study.
Construct. Build. Mater. 228 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.116770.
Karthik, A., Sudalaimani, K., Vijayakumar, C.T., Saravanakumar, S.S., 2019. Effect of
bio-additives on physico-chemical properties of fly ash-ground granulated blast
furnace slag based self cured geopolymer mortars. J. Hazard Mater. 361, 56e63.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2018.08.078.
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun
Kaur, M., Singh, J., Kaur, M., 2018. Microstructure and strength development of fly
ash-based geopolymer mortar: role of nano-metakaolin. Construct. Build.
Mater. 190, 672e679. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.09.157.
Khalil, M.G., Elgabbas, F., El-Feky, M.S., El-Shafie, H., 2020. Performance of geo-
polymer mortar cured under ambient temperature. Construct. Build. Mater.
242, 118090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.118090.
Kumar, S.S., Pazhani, K.C., Ravisankar, K., 2016. Studies on fly ash and slag blended
geopolymer concrete. J. Struct. Eng. 43 (3), 303e310.
Kumar, P., Pankar, C., Manish, D., Santhi, A.S., 2018. Study of mechanical and
microstructural properties of geopolymer concrete with GGBS and Metakaolin.
Mater. Today: Proceed. 5 (14), 28127e28135. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.matpr.2018.10.054.
Li, N., Shi, C., Zhang, Z., Zhu, D., Hwang, H.J., Zhu, Y., Sun, T., 2018. A mixture
proportioning method for the development of performance-based alkali-acti-
vated slag-based concrete. Cement Concr. Compos. 93, 163e174. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.cemconcomp.2018.07.009.
Li, N., Shi, C., Zhang, Z., Wang, H., Liu, Y., 2019. A review on mixture design methods
for geopolymer concrete. Compos. B Eng. 178 (April), 107490. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.compositesb.2019.107490.
Liao, H., Tang, M., Luo, L., Li, C., Chiclana, F., Zeng, X.J., 2018. A bibliometric analysis
and visualization of medical big data research. Sustainability (Switzerland) 10
(1), 1e18. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10010166.
Liu, M.Y.J., Alengaram, U.J., Jumaat, M.Z., Mo, K.H., 2014. Evaluation of thermal
conductivity, mechanical and transport properties of lightweight aggregate
foamed geopolymer concrete. Energy Build. 72, 238e245. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.12.029.
Luhar, S., Chaudhary, S., Luhar, I., 2019. Development of rubberized geopolymer
concrete: strength and durability studies. Construct. Build. Mater. 204,
740e753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.01.185.
Mansuri, L., Udeaja, C., Trillo, C., Kwasi, Gyau, Patel, Dilip, Jha, Kumar, Makore, C.B.,
Gupta, S., 2019. “Scientometric Analysis and Mapping of Digital Technologies
Used in Cultural Heritage Field,”. In: Gorse, C., Neilson, C.J. (Eds.), Proceedings of
the 35th Annual ARCOM Conference, 2-4 September 2019. Association of Re-
searchers in Construction Management, Leeds, UK, pp. 255e264 (September).
McLellan, B.C., Williams, R.P., Lay, J., Van Riessen, A., Corder, G.D., 2011. Costs and
carbon emissions for geopolymer pastes in comparison to ordinary portland
cement. J. Clean. Prod. 19 (9e10), 1080e1090. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2011.02.010.
Mehta, A., Siddique, R., 2017. Sulfuric acid resistance of fly ash based geopolymer
concrete. Construct. Build. Mater. 146, 136e143. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.conbuildmat.2017.04.077.
Mingers, J., Leydesdorff, L., 2015. A review of theory and practice in scientometrics.
Eur. J. Oper. Res. 246 (1), 1e19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2015.04.002.
Mohamed, O.A., 2019. A review of durability and strength characteristics of alkali-
activated slag concrete. Materials 12 (8). https://doi.org/10.3390/ma12081198.
Moini, M., Flores-Vivian, I., Amirjanov, A., Sobolev, K., 2015. The optimization of
aggregate blends for sustainable low cement concrete. Construct. Build. Mater.
93, 627e634. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.06.019.
Moon, J., Bae, S., Celik, K., Yoon, S., Kim, K., Su, K., Monteiro, P.J.M., 2014. Cement &
Concrete Composites Characterization of natural pozzolan-based geopolymeric
binders. Cement Concr. Compos. 53, 97e104. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.cemconcomp.2014.06.010.
Mryglod, O., Holovatch, Y., Kenna, R., 2018. Data mining in scientometrics: usage
analysis for academic publications. In: Proceedings of the 2018 IEEE 2nd In-
ternational Conference on Data Stream Mining and Processing, DSMP 2018,
pp. 241e246. https://doi.org/10.1109/DSMP.2018.8478458.
Muttashar, H.L., Ariffin, M.A.M., Hussein, M.N., Hussin, M.W., Ishaq, S.B., 2018. Self-
compacting geopolymer concrete with spend garnet as sand replacement.
J. Bulild. Eng. 15, 85e94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2017.10.007.
Nath, P., Sarker, P.K., 2014. Effect of GGBFS on setting, workability and early strength
properties of fly ash geopolymer concrete cured in ambient condition.
Construct. Build. Mater. 66, 163e171. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.conbuildmat.2014.05.080.
Nath, Pradip, Sarker, P.K., 2015. Use of OPC to improve setting and early strength
properties of low calcium fly ash geopolymer concrete cured at room temper-
ature. Cement Concr. Compos. 55, 205e214. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.cemconcomp.2014.08.008.
Neupane, K., 2016. Fly ash and GGBFS based powder-activated geopolymer binders:
a viable sustainable alternative of portland cement in concrete industry. Mech.
Mater. 103, 110e122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechmat.2016.09.012.
Noushini, A., Castel, A., Gilbert, R.I., 2019. Creep and shrinkage of synthetic fibre-
reinforced geopolymer concrete. Mag. Concr. Res. 71 (20), 1070e1082. https://
doi.org/10.1680/jmacr.18.00053.
Nuaklong, P., Sata, V., Wongsa, A., Srinavin, K., Chindaprasirt, P., 2018. Recycled
aggregate high calcium fly ash geopolymer concrete with inclusion of OPC and
nano-SiO2. Construct. Build. Mater. 174, 244e252. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.conbuildmat.2018.04.123.
Nurruddin, M.F., Haruna, S., Mohammed, B.S., Sha‘aban, I.G., 2018. Methods of
curing geopolymer concrete: a review. Int. J. Adv. Appl. Sci. 5 (1), 31e36. https://
doi.org/10.21833/ijaas.2018.01.005.
Okeyinka, O.M., Oloke, D.A., Adebisi, W.A., Ayininuola, G.M., 2019. Investigation into
the applicability of brewery sludge residue-ash as a base material for geo-
polymer concrete. Construct. Build. Mater. 223, 28e32. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.conbuildmat.2019.06.214.
Okoye, F.N., Prakash, S., Singh, N.B., 2017. Durability of fly ash based geopolymer
23
Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353
concrete in the presence of silica fume. J. Clean. Prod. 149, 1062e1067. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.02.176.
Olivia, M., Nikraz, H., 2012. Properties of fly ash geopolymer concrete designed by
Taguchi method. Mater. Des. 36, 191e198. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.matdes.2011.10.036.
Paija, N., Kolay, P.K., Mohanty, M., Kumar, S., 2020. Ground bottom ash application
for conventional mortar and geopolymer paste. J. Hazard. Toxic Radioact. Waste
24 (1). https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)HZ.2153-5515.0000466.
Palomo, A., Krivenko, P., Garcia-Lodeiro, I., Kavalerova, E., Maltseva, O., Ferna ndez-
Jimenez, A., 2014. A review on alkaline activation: new analytical perspectives.
Mater. Construccio  n 64 (315). https://doi.org/10.3989/mc.2014.00314.
Paper, W., Development, R., 2018. www.econstor.eu.
Papi, A., 2018. Big Data and Data Science : a Scientometrics Approach, pp. 233e240.
May.
Part, W.K., Ramli, M., Cheah, C.B., 2015. An overview on the influence of various
factors on the properties of geopolymer concrete derived from industrial by-
products. Construct. Build. Mater. 77, 370e395. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.conbuildmat.2014.12.065.
Part, W.K., Ramli, M., Cheah, C.B., 2017. An overview on the influence of various
factors on the properties of geopolymer concrete derived from industrial
byproducts. Handbook of Low Carbon Concrete. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-
12-804524-4.00011-7.
Pavithra, P., Srinivasula Reddy, M., Dinakar, P., Hanumantha Rao, B., Satpathy, B.K.,
Mohanty, A.N., 2016. A mix design procedure for geopolymer concrete with fly
ash. J. Clean. Prod. 133, 117e125. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.05.041.
Phoo-ngernkham, T., Chindaprasirt, P., Sata, V., Hanjitsuwan, S., Hatanaka, S., 2014.
The effect of adding nano-SiO2 and nano-Al2O3 on properties of high calcium
fly ash geopolymer cured at ambient temperature. Mater. Des. 55, 58e65.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2013.09.049.
Phoo-Ngernkham, T., Phiangphimai, C., Damrongwiriyanupap, N., Hanjitsuwan, S.,
Thumrongvut, J., Chindaprasirt, P., 2018. “A Mix Design Procedure for Alkali-
Activated High-Calcium Fly Ash Concrete Cured at Ambient Temperature,” Adv.
Mater. Sci. Eng., vol. 2018, 1e3. https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/2460403.
Plume, A., Colledge, L., 2016. New Metrics Will Make Journal Assessment More
Complete and Transparent. Elsevier Connect, pp. 1e10. https://www.elsevier.
com/connect/new-metrics-will-make-journal-evaluation-easier-and-more-
transparent.
Prabha, V.C., Revathi, V., 2019. Geopolymer mortar incorporating high calcium fly
ash and silica fume. Arch. Civ. Eng. 65 (1), 3e16. https://doi.org/10.2478/ace-
2019-0001.
Provis, J.L., 2014. Green concrete or red herring? - future of alkali-activated mate-
rials. Adv. Appl. Ceram. 113 (8), 472e477. https://doi.org/10.1179/
1743676114Y.0000000177.
Provis, John L., 2018. Alkali-activated materials. In: Cement and Concrete Research.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cemconres.2017.02.009.
Provis, J.L., Bernal, S.A., 2014. Geopolymers and related alkali-activated materials.
Annu. Rev. Mater. Res. 44, 299e327. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-matsci-
070813-113515.
Provis, J.L., Arbi, K., Bernal, S.A., Bondar, D., Buchwald, A., Castel, A.,
Chithiraputhiran, S., Cyr, M., Dehghan, A., Dombrowski-Daube, K., Dubey, A.,
Ducman, V., Gluth, G.J.G., Nanukuttan, S., Peterson, K., Puertas, F., van
Riessen, A., Torres-Carrasco, M., Ye, G., Zuo, Y., 2019. RILEM TC 247-DTA round
robin test: mix design and reproducibility of compressive strength of alkali-
activated concretes. Mater. Struct. 52 (5), 1e13. https://doi.org/10.1617/
s11527-019-1396-z.
Prusty, J.K., Pradhan, B., 2020. Multi-response optimization using Taguchi-Grey
relational analysis for composition of fly ash-ground granulated blast furnace
slag based geopolymer concrete. Construct. Build. Mater. 241, 118049. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2020.118049.
Purwanto, Han, A.L., Nuroji, Jaya Ekaputri, J., 2018. The influence of molarity vari-
ations to the mechanical behavior of geopolymer concrete, 195. MATEC Web of
Conferences. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201819501010.
Rafeet, A., Vinai, R., Soutsos, M., Sha, W., 2017. Guidelines for mix proportioning of
fly ash/GGBS based alkali activated concretes. Construct. Build. Mater. 147,
130e142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.04.036.
Rangan, B., Hardjito, D., 2005. Studies on fly ash-based geopolymer concrete. In:
Proc. 4th World …, November. http://www.google.com/books?hl¼id&
lr¼&id¼wIFo7L_zO8AC&oi¼fnd&pg¼PA133&
dq¼djwantoro&ots¼FlZypGbTgV&
sig¼wTzPfRqrskTYXr8KGbO58Fgwij8.
Rashad, A.M., 2013. Metakaolin as cementitious material: history, scours, produc-
tion and composition-A comprehensive overview. Construct. Build. Mater. 41,
303e318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2012.12.001.
Reddy, M.S., Dinakar, P., Rao, B.H., 2018. Mix design development of fly ash and
ground granulated blast furnace slag based geopolymer concrete. J. Bulild. Eng.
20, 712e722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jobe.2018.09.010.
Ren, W., Xu, J., Zhang, Z., Liu, Y., 2014. Wavelet packet analysis on acoustic spectral
characteristics of geopolymeric concrete after elevated temperature. J. Build.
Mater. 17 (2), 284e290. https://doi.org/10.3969/j.issn.1007-9629.2014.02.019.
Report, C., Tc, J., Ichimiya, K., Hatanaka, S., Atarashi, D., Kunieda, M., Goda, H.,
Harada, K., Geopolymer, I., Mechanism, R., Group, W., 2016. Technical Com-
mittee on Application of Geopolymer Technology to Construction Field.


Rovnaník, P., Simonov  
r, L., Schmid, P., Ker
sner, Z., 2016. Effect of carbon
a, H., Topola
nanotubes on the mechanical fracture properties of fly ash geopolymer. Pro-
cedia Eng. 151, 321e328. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proeng.2016.07.360.
W.P. Zakka, N.H. Abdul Shukor Lim and M. Chau Khun
Ryu, G.S., Lee, Y.B., Koh, K.T., Chung, Y.S., 2013. The mechanical properties of fly ash-
based geopolymer concrete with alkaline activators. Construct. Build. Mater. 47,
409e418. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.05.069.
Saberi, M.K., Barkhan, S., Hamzehei, R., 2019. A Bibliometric Study and Visualization
of Library Philosophy and Practice during 1998-2018. Library Philosophy and
Practice, 2019.
Saloma, Hanafiah, Elysandi, D.O., Meykan, D.G., 2017. Effect of Na2SiO3/NaOH on
mechanical properties and microstructure of geopolymer mortar using fly ash
and rice husk ash as precursor. AIp Conf. Proceed. 1903. https://doi.org/10.1063/
1.5011552.
Saravanan, R., Pavan Kumar, M., Elavenil, S., 2019. Study on mechanical properties of
geopolymer concrete. Int. J. Innovative Technol. Explor. Eng. 8 (7), 1e6.
Schneider, M., Kane, C.M., Rainwater, J., Guerrero, L., Tong, G., Desai, S.R.,
Trochim, W., 2017. Feasibility of common bibliometrics in evaluating trans-
lational science. J. Clin. Transl. Sci. 1 (1), 45e52. https://doi.org/10.1017/
cts.2016.8.
Şenel, E., Demir, E., 2018. Bibliometric and scientometric analysis of the articles
published in the journal of religion and health between 1975 and 2016. J. Relig.
Health 57 (4), 1473e1482. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-017-0539-1.


Serdar, M., Bjegovic, D., Stirmer, N., Pecur, I.B., 2019. Alternative binders for con-
crete : opportunities and challenges. GRADEVINAR 71 (10).
Shaikh, F.U.A., Lu, Y.Y., Maalej, M., 2013. Development of ductile fibre reinforced
geopolymer composites. In: Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on
Fracture Mechanics of Concrete and Concrete Structures, FraMCoS 2013,
pp. 1064e1071. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid¼2-s2.0-
84879965708&partnerID¼40&
md5¼3b32e1ce5134084eaa6c5446682512e9.
Shi, C., Chong, L., Hu, X., Liu, X., 2015. Geopolymer: current status and research
needs. Indian Concr. J. 89 (2), 49e57. https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.
uri?eid¼2-s2.0-84921963528&partnerID¼40&
md5¼34138438dee4ee5a9070d1c9b59b3ba2.
Shill, S.K., Al-Deen, S., Ashraf, M., Hutchison, W., 2020. Resistance of fly ash based
geopolymer mortar to both chemicals and high thermal cycles simultaneously.
Construct. Build. Mater. 239, 117886. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.conbuildmat.2019.117886.
Simon, S., Hemamathi, A., Jenishtalouis, J., 2019. Strength assessment on flyash
based geopolymer concrete. Int. J. Innovative Technol. Explor. Eng. 9 (1),
3956e3960. https://doi.org/10.35940/ijitee.A5034.119119.
Singh, N.B., Middendorf, B., 2020. Geopolymers as an alternative to Portland
cement: an overview. Construct. Build. Mater. 237 https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.conbuildmat.2019.117455.
Singh, B., Ishwarya, G., Gupta, M., Bhattacharyya, S.K., 2015. Geopolymer concrete: a
review of some recent developments. Construct. Build. Mater. 85, 78e90.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2015.03.036.
Song, J., Zhang, H., Dong, W., 2016. A review of emerging trends in global PPP
research: analysis and visualization. Scientometrics 107 (3), 1111e1147. https://
doi.org/10.1007/s11192-016-1918-1.
Song, W., Zhu, Z., Peng, Y., Wan, Y., Xu, X., Pu, S., Song, S., Wei, Y., 2019. Effect of steel
slag on fresh, hardened and microstructural properties of high-calcium fly ash
based geopolymers at standard curing condition. Construct. Build. Mater. 229,
116933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2019.116933.
Su, H.N., Lee, P.C., 2010. Mapping knowledge structure by keyword co-occurrence: a
first look at journal papers in Technology Foresight. Scientometrics 85 (1),
65e79. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-010-0259-8.
Tennakoon, C.K., 2016. Assessment of Properties of Ambient Cured Geopolymer
Concrete for Construction Applications.
Topark-Ngarm, P., Chindaprasirt, P., Sata, V., 2015. Setting time, strength, and bond
of high-calcium fly ash geopolymer concrete. J. Mater. Civ. Eng. 27 (7), 1e7.
https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)MT.1943-5533.0001157.
Tran, T.T., Pham, T.M., Hao, H., 2019. Experimental and Analytical Investigation on
Flexural Behaviour of Ambient Cured Geopolymer Concrete Beams Reinforced
with Steel Fibers, 200. Engineering Structures, p. 109707. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.engstruct.2019.109707. March.
Turner, L.K., Collins, F.G., 2013. Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2-e) emissions: a
comparison between geopolymer and OPC cement concrete. Construct. Build.
Mater. 43, 125e130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2013.01.023.
Van Deventer, J.S.J., 2016. Progress in the adoption of geopolymer cement. In:
Handbook of Low Carbon Concrete. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-804524-
24
Journal of Cleaner Production 280 (2021) 124353
4.00010-5.
Van Deventer, Jannie, S.J., Provis, J.L., Duxson, Peter, 2012. Technical and commercial
progress in the adoption of geopolymer cement. Miner. Eng. 29, 89e104.
van Eck, N.J., Waltman, L., 2010. Software survey: VOSviewer, a computer program
for bibliometric mapping. Scientometrics 84 (2), 523e538. https://doi.org/
10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3.
van Eck, N.J., Waltman, L., 2013. {VOSviewer} Manual. Univeristeit Leiden, Leiden.
September. http://www.vosviewer.com/documentation/Manual_VOSviewer_1.
6.1.pdf.
Wang, A., Zheng, Y., Zhang, Z., Liu, K., Ma, R., Sun, D., 2019. Research progress of
geopolymer cementitious material modification for improving durability of
concrete. Cailiao Daobao/Materials Reports 33 (8), 2552e2560. https://doi.org/
10.11896/cldb.19040211.
Wardhono, A., Law, D.W., Sutikno, Dani, H., 2017. The effect of slag addition on
strength development of Class C fly ash geopolymer concrete at normal tem-
perature, Green Construction and Engineering Education for Sustainable Future.
AIP Con. Pro. 1887, 020030-1e020030-7. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5003513.
Wardhono, A., Risdianto, Y., Sofianto, M.F., Nur, M.T., Pradipta, A.H., 2019. The
strength properties of high calcium fly ash geopolymer specimens incorpo-
rating mud-volcanic and limestone variations. IOP Conf. Ser. Mater. Sci. Eng. 669
(1) https://doi.org/10.1088/1757-899X/669/1/012016.
Xiao, X., Skitmore, M., Li, H., Xia, B., 2019. Mapping knowledge in the economic
areas of green building using scientometric analysis. Energies 14 (15). https://
doi.org/10.3390/en12153011.
Xiao, R., Ma, Y., Jiang, X., Zhang, M., Zhang, Y., Wang, Y., Huang, B., He, Q., 2020a.
Strength , microstructure , ef fl orescence behavior and environmental impacts
of waste glass geopolymers cured at ambient temperature. J. Clean. Prod. 252,
119610. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119610.
Xiao, R., Polaczyk, P., Zhang, M., Jiang, X., Zhang, Y., Huang, B., Hu, W., 2020b.
Evaluation of glass powder-based geopolymer stabilized road bases containing
recycled waste glass aggregate. Transport. Res. Rec. 2674 (1), 22e32. https://
doi.org/10.1177/0361198119898695.
Xiao, R., Jiang, X., Zhang, M., Polaczyk, P., Huang, B., 2020c. Analytical investigation
of phase assemblages of alkali-activated materials in CaO-SiO2-Al2O3 systems:
the management of reaction products and designing of precursors. Mater. Des.
194, 108975. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matdes.2020.108975.
Xu, Y., Zeng, J., Chen, W., Jin, R., Li, B., Pan, Z., 2018. A holistic review of cement
composites reinforced with graphene oxide. Construct. Build. Mater. 171,
291e302. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2018.03.147.
Yacob, N.S., ElGawady, M.A., Sneed, L.H., Said, A., 2019. Shear Strength of Fly Ash-
Based Geopolymer Reinforced Concrete Beams. Engineering Structures, p. 196.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2019.109298.
Yan, L., Kasal, B., Huang, L., 2016. A review of recent research on the use of cellulosic
fibres, their fibre fabric reinforced cementitious, geo-polymer and polymer
composites in civil engineering. Compos. B Eng. 92, 94e132. https://doi.org/
10.1016/j.compositesb.2016.02.002.
Yu, F., Hayes, B., 2018. Applying data analytics and visualization to assessing the
research impact of the cancer cell biology (CCB) program at the university of
North Carolina at chapel hill. Journal of EScience Librarianship 7 (1), e1123.
https://doi.org/10.7191/jeslib.2018.1123.
Zainal, F.F., Hussin, K., Rahmat, A., Al Bakri Abdullah, M.M., Rizam, S., Selimin, M.T.,
Sandu, A.V., 2015. The electrical resistivity of geopolymer paste by using
Wenner four probe method. Key Eng. Mater. 660 (August), 28e33. https://
doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/KEM.660.28.
Zannerni, G.M., Fattah, K.P., Al-Tamimi, A.K., 2020. Ambient-cured geopolymer
concrete with single alkali activator. Sustainable Materials and Technologies 23.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.susmat.2019.e00131.
Zhang, Z., Provis, J.L., Reid, A., Wang, H., 2014. Geopolymer foam concrete: an
emerging material for sustainable construction. In: Construction and Building
Materials. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.01.081.
Zhang, H.Y., Qiu, G.H., Kodur, V., Yuan, Z.S., 2020. Spalling behavior of metakaolin-fly
ash based geopolymer concrete under elevated temperature exposure. Cement
Concr. Compos. 106, 103483. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.cemconcomp.2019.103483.
Zhuang, X.Y., Chen, L., Komarneni, S., Zhou, C.H., Tong, D.S., Yang, H.M., Yu, W.H.,
Wang, H., 2016. Fly ash-based geopolymer: clean production, properties and
applications. J. Clean. Prod. 125, 253e267. https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.jclepro.2016.03.019.