ZHEJIANG UNIVERSITY, HANGZHOU, CHINA. Graphene Aerogel is the world’s lightest material that only weighs 0.16 milligrams per cubic centimeter. It has replaced last year’s aerographite that was created by German scientists and weighed 0.2 milligrams per cubic centimeter. It has great oil-absorbing abilities that are very useful in disastrous oil spills.

Professor Gao Chao and his team from China’s Zhejiang University created this sponge-like solid material that is made from freeze-dried carbon and graphene oxide. Its density is twice the size of hydrogen. What’s remarkable with graphene aerogel is its oil-absorbing ability and flexibility.

The team has been developing macroscopic graphene materials like one-dimensional graphene fibers and two-dimensional graphene films. The team set another Guinness World Record by creating a three-dimensional porous material made from graphene aerogel. The new carbon sponge has a density that is lower than helium. It is exceptionally elastic that it can absorb up to 900 times its own weight in water and oil.

Graphene aerogel can absorb organics at a high speed. A gram of aerogel can absorb 68.8 grams of organics per second. This is great news especially in destructive events like an oil spill. The aerogels can be scattered on the sea and oil will be quickly absorbed. Also, the aerogel and the oil absorbed can be recycled.