{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T08:22:11Z","timestamp":1787559731488,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,22]],"date-time":"2026-08-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787356800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Research Foundation of Anhui University of Science and Technology for High-level Talents Introduction","award":["2022yjrc82"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022yjrc82"]}]},{"award":["2022yjrc82"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2022yjrc82"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00q9atg80","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001809","name":"National Natural Science Foundation of China","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["52408233"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52408233"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001809","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["52408233"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["52408233"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01h0zpd94","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing, China","award":["CSTB2023NSCQ-MSX0828"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["CSTB2023NSCQ-MSX0828"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Polymers"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cement-based grouting materials with a high water-to-cement ratio are susceptible to connected pore development, chloride ingress, and mechanical degradation in chloride-bearing groundwater and marine environments. To improve resistance to NaCl attack, this study compared an unmodified cement-based grouting material (NC) with a polyacrylate-emulsion-modified material (PA). Mechanical properties, surface wettability, pore structure, phase assemblage, thermal behavior, functional groups, and microstructure were investigated under different NaCl concentrations (0%, 5%, 10%, and 15%) and immersion durations (28 and 90 d). This study systematically evaluates the coupled evolution of mechanical strength retention, surface wettability, pore structure, chloride-bearing phases, and microstructure in a bulk PA-emulsion-modified high-water-to-cement-ratio grouting material under graded NaCl exposure. The results showed pronounced concentration- and time-dependent effects. Low NaCl concentrations were associated with continued hydration and reaction-product filling, whereas higher concentrations and prolonged exposure led to pore coarsening and strength loss. PA modification improved the mechanical stability of the material in NaCl environments. After 90 d of immersion in 15% NaCl, the compressive and flexural strengths of the PA group were 23.60% and 22.53% higher than those of the NC group, respectively, while the corresponding strength-retention ratios were higher by 9.06 and 10.40 percentage points. Contact-angle and MIP results showed that PA reduced surface wettability and mercury-accessible porosity. After 15% NaCl exposure, the contact angle of the PA group remained 72.5\u00b0, compared with 40.1\u00b0 for the NC group, while the porosity decreased from 38.11% in the NC group to 30.98% in the PA group. XRD, TG-DTG, and FTIR analyses indicated the formation and evolution of Friedel\u2019s salt or other chloride-bearing AFm phases after NaCl exposure. Combined with SEM observations, the results indicate that PA mitigates NaCl-induced deterioration through reduced surface wettability, refined pore structure, regulated chloride-bearing product distribution, and improved matrix integrity. Overall, the findings establish a coupled surface\u2013pore\u2013phase\u2013microstructure framework for understanding the enhanced NaCl resistance of PA-modified cement-based grouting materials.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/polym18172039","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T08:03:41Z","timestamp":1787558621000},"page":"2039","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Regulatory Effect of Polyacrylate Emulsion on the NaCl Attack Behavior of Cement-Based Grouting Materials"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8935-5956","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yuxuan","family":"Wang","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"},{"name":"Zhiruiyuan Traffic Consultation Limited Company, Chongqing 400030, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shengjie","family":"Han","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fan","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lei","family":"Hu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jiao","family":"Liao","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shijie","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yangyang","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8008-4280","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jiehao","family":"Wu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"130991","DOI":"10.1016\/j.conbuildmat.2023.130991","article-title":"A comprehensive review of cementitious grouts: Composition, properties, requirements and advanced performance","volume":"375","author":"Ferrara","year":"2023","journal-title":"Constr. 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