Historiography, Current Practice and Future Perspectives: A Critical Review of Geopolymer Binders

First introduced by Davidovits in the late 1970s, geopolymer binders were defined as a novel class of inorganic polymers. Then, research progressed from fundamental investigations into their structure and chemistry to a rapidly expanding body of work on construction applications. While geopolymers have attracted considerable interest for their superior performance, durability and reduced environmental footprint, their widespread adoption depends on extensive evaluation and well-defined future directions. The present paper provides a crucial and comprehensive overview of performance criteria, production parameters and future perspectives of geopolymer binders. A bibliometric trend analysis indicates that research on geopolymers has expanded markedly in recent years. From this body of literature, this paper offers priority directions for future work: standardization of diverse raw materials; development of safer, more sustainable activator systems; systematic improvement of fresh mix properties; acquisition of long-term durability data under realistic exposures; and progression toward internationally accepted test methods and design standards. These insights offer a concise roadmap for advancing geopolymer technology from a promising alternative to a widely adopted construction material.