Water reacts instantly with tricalcium aluminate. Hydration likely begins already during grinding of cement clinker due to residual humidity and dehydration of gypsum additives. Initial contact with water causes protonation of single bonded oxygen atoms on aluminate rings and leads to the formation of calcium hydroxide. The next steps in the sequence of the hydration reaction involve the generated hydroxide ions as strong nucleophiles, which fully hydrolyze the ring structure in combination with water.