Annika Bastian

PhD Student

Annika Bastian is a PhD candidate in the Physical Chemistry group led by Dr. Cristina Ruiz Agudo at the University of Konstanz, Germany. Her research focuses on the formation of Mg phases in MgO-silicate cement, specifically examining how various additives influence crystallization, transformation, morphology, and structure. The aim of her work is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms behind MgO-silicate cement formation, identifying the critical phases and defining the role of additives to optimize the material for industrial applications.

Her research focuses on cement chemistry, specifically the early stages of nucleation in homogeneous systems. She investigates formation mechanisms using various physiochemical probes during her experiments. Following this, she characterizes the precipitates of MgO-silicate cement through techniques such as FTIR, XRD, TGA, SEM, EDX, and TEM.