MIT team 3D-prints graphene sponges

The team started by compressing small flakes of graphene using a combination of heat and pressure. This produced a strong, stable structure whose form resembles that of some corals and microscopic creatures called diatoms. These shapes have a massive surface area in comparison to their volume, and also proved to be exceptionally strong.

"Once we created these 3D structures, we wanted to see what's the limit - what's the strongest possible material we can produce," said Zhao Qin, a research scientist at MIT’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE).

To explore the capabilities of the structures, the researchers created a variety of 3D models and subjected them to a range of tests. In computational simulations that mimic a tensile loading machine, one of the samples had five per cent the density of steel, but 10 times the strength. The configurations were then 3D-printed in the lab, with the physical samples matching up to the performance of the simulations. The material could be used in any application that requires a combination of low weight and extreme strength.