World's Lightest Material: Carbon Aerogel

Scientists at Zhejiang University have produced a substance that is the World's lightest substance till date. It has the density equal to only one-sixth of the density of air.

Professor Gao Chao is the head of the team which built Carbon Aerogel, the solid material which has a density of only 0.16 mg/cubic centimetre. The earlier record of being the lightest material was held by Graphite Aerogel developed by a team of researchers at the University of Kiel and the Technical University of Hamburg in Germany in June 2012. 

Cabon Aerogel on the petals of a delicate flower but doesn't crush it .

The research team led by Professor Gao Chao freeze-dried solutions of carbon nanotubes and graphene to remove moisture and retain integrity. "Carbon aerogel is similar to carbon sponge in structure. When an aerogel of the size of a mug is put on Setaria, the slender grass will not bend," Gao Chao said in a statement. The study by Gao Chao was reported in the journal Advanced Materials.

The Indian Express reported it as excellent in elasticity as it can easily bounce back when compressed. In addition, it's one of the materials with biggest oil absorption capacity. Current oil absorbing products can usually absorb organic solvent of about 10 times of their own weight. The carbon aerogel newly developed can absorb up to 900 times their own weight.

"Carbon aerogel is expected to play an important role in pollution control such as oil spill control, water purification and even air purification," Gao Chao said.