Innovative Building Materials: Design, Properties and Applications

Dear Colleagues,

Innovative building materials have been a constant search in Materials Science, due to the importance of the construction sector for technological advancement. The exhaustive use of natural resources to produce binders and other materials, the extensive release of greenhouse gasses, and high energy expenditure contribute to the urgency of developing sustainable construction materials.

Exemplifying the problem is the production of Portland cement, used in concrete and mortars. This is one of the materials most used by humanity, second only to water, whose production consumes a high amount of natural resources, such as limestone, clay, and sand. Furthermore, the production of Porltand cement is responsible for the emission of 630–800 kg of CO₂/tons of Portland cement, due to the use of fuels and due to the decarbonation of limestone.

Other building materials also present alarming environmental problems. This is the case with the intensive use of aggregates, such as natural sand and crushed stones; the use of asphalt and bituminous materials for paving and waterproofing, from petrochemical industries; the use of steel products, responsible for the generation of different types of slag from material processing; ceramic products, used in blocks and tiles, which consume available natural clay reserves; and the use of synthetic fibers, such as glass, carbon, and steel, used to reinforce cementitious composites. Through this information, the importance of this Special Issue, “Innovative Building Materials: Design, Properties and Applications”, becomes clear.

Recommended topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Development of alternative and eco-friendly binders;
• Study of additional cementitious materials and pozzolans;
• Analysis of geopolymers and activated alkali materials with ecological potential;
• Characterization and application of recycled aggregates in cementitious materials;
• Cementitious and polymeric composites with natural lignocellulosic fibers;
• Characterization and application of waste in ceramic materials;
• Studies of alternative and ecological asphalt and bituminous materials;
• Application of waste and slags in construction materials;
• Life cycle analysis of sustainable construction materials;
• Circular economy analysis of sustainable construction materials.

Prof. Dr. Markssuel Teixeira Marvila
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• sustainability
• Portland cement
• pozzolans
• geopolymers
• natural fibers
• ceramic materials
• wastes