Research team bends individual tetrapod nanostructures
Since a research group at Kiel University (CAU) and the Hamburg University of Technology (TUHH) in Hamburg-Harburg has developed aerographite – one of the most light weight materials in the world – in the year 2012 -, they have continued researching about it. Its complex tetrapodal architecture gives the carbon-based 3-D material very unique properties, such as extremely high elasticity and electrical conductivity. Now, for the first time, as part of an international research team, materials scientists from the CAU were able to fold the individual hollow tetrapods, each measuring only a few micrometers in size. After bending, the tetrapods automatically retain its original shape, without suffering any damage. This makes advanced applications conceivable, both in materials science as well as in the field of regenerative medicine. The research team published their results in Nature Communications.