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Abstract
Alkali-activated binders are currently a widely-researched material. Thanks to the use of secondary raw materials such as slag from metallurgical production and ash from combustion, it appears to be a more promising and more environmentally friendly material than conventional cement concrete. Considerable attention is paid to the bonding phase itself, but only a few works deal with the binder-aggregate interaction. With cement concrete, much more attention is paid to this issue. This paper deals with the possibility of observation using electron microscopy and the information that can be obtained by this method. The problems of sample preparation and difficulties in the course of our own observation are observed.

Abstract
Alkali-activated binders (AAB) are very intensively studied materials nowadays. Because of possible usage as secondary raw materials, they can be environmentally efficient. Intensive research is focused especially on binder matrix, composition and its structure. For industrial usage, it is necessary to work with some aggregate for the preparation of mortars and concretes. Due to different structures of alkali-activated binders, the interaction with the aggregate will be different in comparison to an ordinary Portland cement binder. This paper deals with the study of interactions between several types of rocks used as aggregate and alkali-activated blast furnace slag. The research was focused especially on mechanical properties of prepared mortars.