ABSTRACT
This study examines bitumen ageing mechanisms using FTIR to analyse changes in chemical properties and functional groups. The carbonyl index increases with ageing, while the sulfoxide index shows inconsistent growth. Other functional groups associated with different wavenumbers in addition to carbonyls and sulfoxides within different generic fractions of bitumen were also analysed in detail. These insights can guide the enhanced understanding of bitumen chemically and address ageing-related challenges in bituminous binders.
