In conclusion, AFm phases precipitate when C 3 A hydrates in pure water or the presence of NaCl and NaNO 3 in the first 3 h of hydration. The main hydrates identified by XRD analysis are C 2 AH 8 with pure water, Friedel's salt with NaCl, and nitrate AFm with the addition of NaNO 3 . The presence of sodium sulfate leads to the formation of ettringite. In the presence of 2000 µmol g -1 of sodium salts, we could not detect the predicted AFm phases C 2 AH 8 or C 4 AH 19 . Furthermore, despite being expected from the modeling, monosulfate was not detected in the first 3 h by XRD.