Scientists made the blackest material ever

Scientists created what they claim is the blackest material ever produced by humans, absorbing all the light that hits its surface.

Researchers from Saudi Arabia’s King Abdulla University of Science and Technology have developed a new carbon-nanotube-based material, absorbing almost 99 percent of light between 400 and 1,400nm.

Above: Black.   Credit: Black

 

Optical black body, the fabrication of which occurs via seeded growth of Au nanospheres from Au nanorods.   Credit: 2015 Nature Nanotechnology

Engineering broadband light absorbers is crucial to many applications, including energy-harvesting devices and optical interconnects. The performances of an ideal absorber are that of a black body, a dark material that absorbs radiation at all angles and polarizations. Despite advances in micrometre-thick films, the absorbers available to date are still far from an ideal black body.

via PhysOrg

source Nature Nanotechnology