1H-NMR Spectroscopy: A Possible Approach to Advanced Bitumen Characterization for Industrial and Paving Applications

Bitumen has unique chemo-mechanical properties and for this reason, it is today one of the main constituents of many industrial products beside its common use in highway pavements construction. While the excellent rheological properties of bitumens have been investigated by means of different techniques, still a lot remains to know about the intrinsic properties of this complex material. It is therefore important to investigate its structure and properties from a closer point of view, towards possible useful modifications of the neat material. The present research developed a technique to investigate the composition of bitumens using the Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC), to separate the different fractions, and the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to assess and quantify the aliphatic hydrogen part with respect to the aromatic part. In order to achieve a comprehensive understanding on the chemical composition of the materials, the 1H-NMR analysis was conducted, in solution using CCl4 as solvent, on three different neat bitumens and on their asphaltene and maltene fractions. The combined application of TLC and 1H-NMR spectroscopy enables the advanced characterization of bitumens supplied from different sources or obtained from different processes. This further allows addressing the use of specific modifications according to the bitumen final applications.