It all started back in 1931, more than 80 years ago, when Samuel Stevens Koestler invented aerogels - the lightest materials at that time, which at the same time were very durable.

Calm remained for 80 years, until 2011, when the microlattice material graphene became the lightest material. Its density was only 0.9 mg per 1 cubic cm and it was 4 times less than aerogels. From that moment it began real breakthrough in the research and invention of ultra-light materials.

In less than one year, scientists managed to come up with aerographite and make it 4 times lighter than graphene. The density of aerographite was 0.18 mg/cm3.

The challenge was accepted and there is already a result: Chinese scientists tried to make a universal lightweight material and the result was an airgel based on graphene with the indicator specific gravity 0.16 mg/cm3. To make it clear what kind of light material we are dealing with, let’s compare it with air - it is 6.5 times lighter than air.

What does this graphene-based airgel consist of? This is a porous material based on carbon (carbon), which is subjected to freeze drying. Official name open material “graphene-aerogel”.

Unique properties of the material:

• high coefficient of elasticity;
• electrical conductivity;
• adsorption coefficient - 900.

This means that being lighter than air (yes, it can fly away and needs to be tied down like balloon) and having a porous structure it can absorb a substance weighing 900 times its own. Ideas are already emerging for using “graphene-aerogel” as a recycler for oil spilled in the seas and oceans. Notably, the graphene and collected oil can be reused after assembly.

Electrical conductivity of the material will most likely be of interest to electronics manufacturers and mobile technology, where the weight of the device sometimes plays a very important role.

It was invented by a group of scientists led by Chinese professor Gao Chao from Zhejiang University and it created a sensation in scientific world. Graphene, an incredibly light material in itself, is widely used in modern nanotechnology. And scientists managed to obtain a porous material from it - the lightest in the world.

Graphene airgel was made in the same way as other aerogels - by sublimation drying. A porous sponge made of carbon-graphene material almost completely copies any shape, which means the amount of airgel depends only on the volume of the container.

By chemical properties airgel has a density lower than hydrogen and helium. Scientists have confirmed its high strength and high elasticity. And this despite the fact that graphene airgel absorbs and retains volumes organic matter almost 900 times its mass! 1 gram of airgel can literally absorb 68.8 grams of any substance insoluble in water in a second. This is amazing and perhaps very soon all bars on poeli.ru and all hotels will use this material for some of their own purposes to attract visitors.

Another property of the new material was of great interest to the environmental community - the ability of the graphene sponge to absorb organic substances, which will help in eliminating the consequences of man-made accidents.

Potential property of graphene as a catalyst chemical reactions, is intended to be used in storage systems and in the manufacture of complex composite materials.

3D printing with graphene airgel

• 3D printers,
• Popular science *

This article is a translation of “You can now 3D print one of the world’s lightest materials” from the site qz.com, and I added a little of my own.

Now, scientists from the State University of New York (SUNY) and Kansas State University have published in the journal Small about a method for 3D printing with graphene airgel. This technology simplifies the molding of products from this material and expands the scope of its application.

Graphene is a layer of carbon atoms one atom thick. It was first received in 2004. And has since been touted as an amazing material for its strength, ductility and conductivity. Airgel is essentially a regular gel in which water is replaced with air. Graphene airgel is known for its high compressibility (so it can withstand high blood pressure without collapsing) and high conductivity. The very structure of the material, which gives it these qualities, makes it difficult to use in 3D printing. Typically, for airgel 3D printing, the base material is mixed with other ingredients such as a polymer. After giving the structure, the polymer is removed chemical process(solvents, etc.). This method is not suitable for producing products from graphene airgel because will destroy the structure of graphene.

Scientists from SUNY Buffalo and Kansas State University have found a solution to this problem. They mixed graphene oxide with water and 3D printed this mixture onto a substrate at a temperature of -25 C°. So they froze each printed layer using ice as support.

Once the printing process was completed, the ice was removed liquid nitrogen- sublimation drying. In this way, they eliminated water from the structure without damaging the microstructure. The material was subsequently heated to remove the oxygen atom. As a result, only graphene remained in the airgel. The density of the material obtained in this way ranged from 0.5 kg/m3 to 10 kg/m3. The density of the lightest airgel obtained is 0.16 kg/m3.
Now researchers from SUNY and Kansas State University are working on adapting their technology to print with other aerogels.

And finally, I’ll tell you about one delicious interesting area use of airgel.

New super high-tech cooking system

Bose presented a cooking system (video at the link) consisting of an induction hob with an RFID reader and the ability to monitor and power a wireless temperature sensor, as well as a pot (frying pan) with an inner wall made of electric current conductor material, which is a heater, an outer wall made of non-conductive electric current material and airgel filler between two walls. The pan also has a built-in RFID tag and an induction-powered wireless temperature sensor. Thus, the result is a pan that you can hold by the bottom with your bare hands while the water is boiling in it without fear of getting burned. The choice of airgel as a heat insulator is determined by a number of requirements such as the ability to withstand high temperatures, lightness, low thermal conductivity(for aerogels, the thermal conductivity is somewhere between vacuum panels and polyurethane foam insulation, closer to the panels). When the pan is placed on the hob, the food/liquid is heated by induction heating of the inner wall of the pan. Feedback implemented through a temperature sensor, so instead of setting a certain power supplied to the heating element, temperature setting is used inner surface pans, which is almost equal to the temperature of the food (low energy intensity and high thermal conductivity of the inner layer).

P.S. We are one step closer to realizing the IKEA “magic” table.

According to scientists, the material they “derived” is characterized by extremely high strength and elasticity. It is able to quickly return to shape after compression, absorb and retain a large volume of substances that do not dissolve in water - up to 900 times its own weight

A material called aerographite, created last year, failed to retain the title of lightweight material in the world. The crown had to be given to a new airgel made from graphene, the miracle material of the 21st century. The density of ultralight material is lower than that of helium and half that of hydrogen.

The new material was developed by a group of researchers led by Professor Gao Chao from the laboratory of the Department of Polymer Technology and Science of Zhejiang University (China).

Aerogels, originally created in 1931 by American scientist and chemical engineer Samuel Stevens Kistler, lately began to receive a lot of attention. In 2011, an airgel based on multilayer carbon nanotubes(MCNT), also known as frozen smoke, with a density of 4 mg/cm3 has given way to the lightest material in the world with a micro-lattice structure, whose density is 0.9 mg/cm3. Later it was displaced by aerographite (0.18 mg/cm3), whose triumph turned out to be equally short-lived. Today the palm belongs to graphene airgel. Its density is 0.16 mg/cm3.

The researchers already have experience creating macroscopic graphene materials, in particular one-dimensional fibers and two-dimensional films made from graphene. To set the record, they only had to add one dimension and get a three-dimensional porous material.

Instead of sol-gel technology and other methods used to create aerogels, Gao used new way drying, which helped create a carbon sponge with a customizable shape.

“There is no need to use templates because the size of the material directly depends on the size of the container. The larger the container, the more airgel. We can talk about thousands of cubic centimeters, and this is not the limit.”

According to scientists, the material they “derived” is characterized by extremely high strength and elasticity. It is able to quickly return to shape after compression, absorb and retain a large volume of substances that do not dissolve in water - up to 900 times its own weight. It's hard to believe, but in one second, a gram of airgel absorbs up to 68.8 grams of organic matter, which makes it attractive for use in oil spill sites.

“Perhaps one day it will help prevent an environmental disaster. Thanks to the elastic properties of the material, the collected oil and airgel can be recycled,” says Gao.

Researchers are studying the possibilities of using the new material. According to them, graphene airgel can be used as an insulating material, a catalyst support, or a high-performance composite.

Since 2011, scientists have developed several innovative materials, which in turn held the title of “the lightest material on the planet.” First, an airgel based on carbon nanotubes (4 mg/cm3), then a material with a micro-lattice structure (0.9 mg/cm3), then aerographite (0.18 mg/cm3). But today the lightest material is graphene airgel, whose density is 0.16 mg/cm3.

This discovery, belonging to a group of scientists from Zhejiang University (China) under the leadership of Professor Gao Chao, caused a real sensation in modern science. Graphene itself is an unusually light material that is widely used in modern nanotechnology. First, scientists used it to create one-dimensional graphene fibers, then two-dimensional graphene ribbons, and now a third dimension was added to graphene, resulting in a porous material that became the lightest material in the world.

The method for producing porous material from graphene is called freeze drying. Other aerogels are prepared in the same way. The porous carbon-graphene sponge is capable of almost completely repeating any shape given to it. In other words, the amount of graphene airgel produced depends solely on the volume of the container.

Scientists boldly declare such qualities as high strength and elasticity. At the same time, garfen airgel is capable of absorbing and retaining volumes of organic substances up to 900 times greater own weight! So, in a second, 1 gram of airgel can absorb 68.8 grams of any substance that does not dissolve in water.

This property of the innovative material immediately interested environmentalists. After all, in this way you can quickly eliminate the consequences of man-made accidents, for example, using airgel in oil spill sites.

In addition to environmental benefits, graphene airgel has enormous potential for energy, in particular, it is planned to be used in storage systems. In this case, the airgel can be a catalyst for certain chemical reactions. Also, graphene airgel is already beginning to be used in complex composite materials.