Metal nanomesh material lighter than styrofoam

Using a unique fabrication process to form a micro-lattice architecture, a team of West-Coast team of researchers say they have developed the world's lightest material—more than 100 times lighter than Styrofoam at a density of 0.9 mg/cc.

Using an innovative fabrication process developed at HRL, researchers created a “micro-lattice” structure of interconnected hollow tubes with a wall thickness of 100 nanometers. Photo courtesy Dan Little, HRL Laboratories LLC.

The metal material is formed through a series of interconnected hollow tubes with a wall thickness of 100nm, according to the team, which included HRL Laboratories LLC, Malibu, Calif., the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif., and the University of California, Irvine. The metal lattice consists of 99.99 percent open volume by designing the 0.01 percent solid at the nanometer, micron and millimeter scales, explained Dr. Alan Jacobsen, the HRL senior scientist who developed the innovative fabrication process.

"In addition to its ultra-low density," according to a Nov. 17 news release issued by HRL, "the material's cellular architecture gives rise to unprecedented mechanical behavior for a metal, including complete recovery from compression exceeding 50 percent strain and extraordinarily high energy absorption."

Developed for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the material is said to be suitable for battery electrodes, catalyst supports, as well as acoustic, vibration and shock energy damping.