Despite having a reputation for valuing intellectual prowess over physical abilities, scientists are nonetheless just as competitive as anyone else. Evidence of it exists in various fields of science as suggested by the assorted prizes that are awarded for those who achieve firsts in their particular realm of research. Also always popular are virtual contests to see who can create the smallest thing, or the largest, on in the case of aerographite, the lightest. This latest champion has been produced by a team of researchers at the University of Kiel in Germany. It’s based on carbon nanotubes and is being heralded as the lightest solid ever created.
Abstract
An ultra lightweight carbon microtube material called Aerographite is synthesized by a novel single-step chemical vapor deposition synthesis based on ZnO networks, which is presently the lightest known material with a density smaller than μg/cm3. Despite its low density, the hierarchical design leads to remarkable mechanical, electrical, and optical properties. The first experiments with Aerographite electrodes confirm its applicability.
Mecklenburg, M., Schuchardt, A., Mishra, Y. K., Kaps, S., Adelung, R., Lotnyk, A., Kienle, L. and Schulte, K. (2012), Aerographite: Ultra Lightweight, Flexible Nanowall, Carbon Microtube Material with Outstanding Mechanical Performance. Adv. Mater., 24: 3486–3490. doi: 10.1002/adma.201200491![]()
[ Last edited by immars on 2012-7-20 at 13:11 ] |