Versatile nanosponge
Scientists from the U.S. Rice University in collaboration with Penn State University have developed a nanosponge, which is composed of carbon nanotubes enriched by boron.
Nanosponge has good electrical conductivity and can be manipulated with magnets. Due to the very low density (containing 99% air) and oleophilic nature is able to act as extremely efficient absorbent – it is able to absorb more than 100 times of the oil, than it weighs.
The material is extremely lightweight, it also has excellent mechanical properties and hydrophobic character enables floating on water surface, which predestines this material for use in environmental disasters where is oil spilled. It can also be used for the storage of these substances for later use. An indisputable advantage is the possibility of repeated use.
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Daniel Hashim, a graduate student at Rice University led the development of this material and the results of team work published in the prestigious journal Nature. According to the results it appears that the sponge remained elastic after about 10,000 compressions in the lab. “These samples can be made pretty large and can be easily scaled up,” said Hashim, holding a half-inch square block of billions of nanotubes. “They’re super-low density, so the available volume is large. That’s why the uptake of oil can be so high,” said Hashim.
"I do not think anyone has created anything like that before," said Pulickel M. Ajayan (coauthor). "It's magnificent nanostructured sponge."
Movie from Rice University:
Application of the new material will surely find not only in the environmental protection but also in other applications where it will be possible to use these unique features - such as membranes for filtration.