In order to meet various production and living needs, humans have invented and created a variety of materials. Aerogels are widely used in various fields as thermal insulation materials, catalyst carriers, etc. Scientists have developed a Ultra-light material, this solid material called "all-carbon aerogel" has a density of only 0.16mg/cm?, which is one-sixth of the density of air. It is also the lightest material in the world so far.
"Aerogel" is the product of a semi-solid gel after drying and removing the solvent. It has a solid appearance and contains many pores inside, filled with air, so it has a very low density. The research team of Professor Gao Chao from the Department of Polymer Science and Engineering of Zhejiang University lyophilized an aqueous solution containing two nanomaterials, graphene and carbon nanotubes, in a low-temperature environment to remove the water and retain the skeleton, successfully refreshing the "lightest material" record. The previous "world record holder" was a material called "graphite aerogel" created by German scientists at the end of 2012, with a density of 0.18 mg per cubic centimeter.
Although it looks "brittle", "all-carbon aerogel" is excellent in structural toughness. It can quickly recover after being compressed to 20% of its original volume thousands of times. In addition, "full carbon aerogel" is also one of the materials with the strongest oil absorption capacity. Existing oil-absorbing products generally can only absorb about 10 times their own mass of organic solvents, while the absorption capacity of "full carbon aerogel" can be as high as 900 times its own mass.
According to experts, "carbon sponge" is highly elastic and can still return to its original shape after being compressed for 80 degrees. It has ultra-fast and ultra-high adsorption capacity for organic solvents and is the material with the highest oil absorption capacity reported so far. Existing oil-absorbing products can generally only absorb liquids about 10 times their own mass, while the absorption capacity of "carbon sponge" is about 250 times, up to 900 times, and only absorbs oil but not water. The "Big Eater" eats organic matter extremely quickly: each gram of such a "carbon sponge" can absorb 68.8 grams of organic matter per second. In the 20th century, laboratories were conducting further applied research on the adsorption properties of this material. Researchers claim that "carbon sponge" may also become an ideal phase change energy storage insulation material, catalytic carrier, sound-absorbing material and high-efficiency composite material. However, it is difficult to accurately predict its application fields and prospects. We must rely on the imagination of society and the industry to get this new material out of the laboratory and realize its application value.