Portland cement and concrete are the most important construction materials. Its uses are second to water. However, Portland cement manufacture consumes lot of raw materials and energy and at the same time emit greenhouse gases. With the pressure to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the industry has realised that more fundamental understanding is needed. Furthermore, with the knowledge of the well-established basic concepts of physics and chemistry and the progress of recent years in analytical techniques and modelling, we probably have most of what we need to face these challenges. Now it has become a trend to replace a part of Portland cement with different waste materials, known as supplementary cementitious material (SCM) and other additives to improve the quality and reduce greenhouse gases. In order to develop new binders, understanding of basic mechanism of hydration of cementitious materials is needed. In this special issue the focus is on understanding the mechanism of hydration of cementitious materials so that new construction material with low emission of greenhouse gas can be developed.

Hydration; Cementitious system; Blended cement; Effect of admixtures on hydration; Effect of nanomaterials on hydration; Effect of Phase change materials on hydration