German scientists develop world's lightest material
18 Jul 2012
A network of porous carbon tubes interwoven at nano and micro level has been identified as the lightest material in the world.
The material weighs 0.2 milligrams per cubic centimetre and is 75 times lighter than Styrofoam.
Scientists of Kiel University (KU) and Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) have named their joint creation “Aerographite”.
It is jet-black, remains stable, is electrically conductive, ductile and non-transparent.
With these unique properties and its very low density the carbon-made material aerographitely claims to outperform all similar materials.
“Aerographite weighs four times less than world-record-holder up to now”, said Matthias Mecklenburg, co-author and Ph.D. student at the TUHH.
The hitherto lightest material of the world- a nickel material that was presented to the public about six months ago- is also constructed of tiny tubes.
Researchers were able to decode the material’s atomic structure with the aid of a transmission electron microscope (TEM).
Despite of its low weight Aerographite is highly resilient. While lightweight materials normally withstand compression but not tension, Aerographite features both: an excellent compression and tension load.
It is able to be compressed up to 95 percent and be pulled back to its original form without any damage, said professor Rainer Adelung of Kiel University.
“Up to a certain point the Aerographite will become even more solid and therefore stronger than before”, said Hamburg’s Professor Karl Schulte.
Due to its unique material characteristics, Aerographite could fit onto the electrodes of Li-ion batteries. In that case, only a minimal amount of battery electrolyte would be necessary, which then would lead to an important reduction in the battery’s weight.
According to the scientists, further areas of application could focus on the electrical conductivity of synthetic materials.
