In a
Nature paper called "
Solid carbon, springy and light,
scientists from Zhejiang University in Hangzhou, China introduce a
record-breakingly light aerogel, lighter than helium, only twice as
heavy as hydrogen:
Gao Chao's team had already been building macroscopic graphene materials
in one and two dimensions; to create the new aerogel, the researchers
branched out into the third dimension, using a new method of freeze
drying the solutions of carbon nanotubes and graphene to create
malleable carbon sponges.
PhD candidate Sun Haiyan explained, "It's somewhat like large space
structures such as big stadiums, with steel bars as supports and high
strength film as walls to achieve both lightness and strength. Here,
carbon nanotubes are supports and graphene is the wall."
The new material is amazingly absorptive, able to suck in up to 900
times its own weight in oil at a rate of 68.8 grams per second — only
oil, not water, which means it has massive potential as a cleaning
material when it comes to events such as oil spills.
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