3D print the world's lightest material (lighter than air)!

3D print the world's lightest material (lighter than air)!

Aerogel (Aerogels) is one of the lightest materials in the world. Graphene aerogel (graphene aerogel) is one of the lightest in the category-there is no indentation on a small cotton ball.

According to the U.S. website Quartz, the density of this material is about 1 per thousand of water, lighter than air! Ultra-low-density aerogel has a wide range of applications, and researchers have found that it can be used to absorb oil spills and make "invisible" cloaks.

At present, the University of New York at the State University of Buffalo in Buffalo, or SUNY Buffalo, a scientist in the Small Journal, said that already know how to print graphene aerogel with 3D printing technology, But it is currently confined to laboratory prototypes.

Graphene is just a single layer of carbon atoms. Since its first successful separation in 2004, the characteristics of strength, softness and conductivity have been highly sought after. In essence, aerogel is a gel that replaces liquids with air. Graphene Aerogel is known for its high compressibility and strong conductivity. These characteristics are derived from the structure of the material itself, but it brings difficulties to the production of 3D printing technology.

In general, in order to be able to print with an inkjet printer, the core material of the 3D printing aerogel will be mixed with other materials such as polymers, and after the structure is formed, the polymer can be removed by chemical means. But for graphene aerogel, this will undoubtedly destroy its structure.

SUNY Buffalo's researchers gave a solution. They mix graphene oxide-graphene and oxygen atoms with water and add layers to the contact surface of the 25 ℃-to freeze each layer immediately. With the support of ice, it will not be produced by the gel.

After completion of the above process, without destroying the microstructure of the premise, with "freeze-dried" liquid nitrogen to remove ice, discharge water. After heating the material to exclude oxygen atoms, so that only graphene in the aerogel. The density of the last obtained solids is about 0.5~10kg/m3. Up to now, the world's lightest aerogel density is 0.16 kg/m3.

3D printing materials are becoming increasingly important in the process of transforming technology into industrial applications. 3D printers can create objects of a specific shape and form, depending on demand. For example,3D printing not only helps the aerogel industry innovate faster, it also produces obsolete model parts that have already been discontinued.

According to reports, SUNY Buffalo researchers are now expanding their 3D printing technology to create other types of aerogel.

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3D print the world's lightest material (lighter than air)!