Graphene meta-aerogels: When sculpture aesthetic meets 1D/2D composite materials

The engraving technique has grown in parallel with our human civilization, along with the targeted materials evolving from stone and metals to wood. Benefiting from the blossom of nanotechnology, the bulky nicking tools have downsized themselves to a micro-/nanoscale, such as laser beams, and the materials have been extended from traditional hard ones to soft functional nanomaterials. When ancient sculpture art meets modern advanced micro-/nano fabrication techniques and low-dimensional materials, impossible materials are born, which will redefine the functional scope of well-developed materials. Recently, a team from Tsinghua University reported such fascinating materials, graphene-based meta-aerogels, that process excellent elasticity, ultralight specific weight (down to 0.1 mg·cm⁻³), and superwide Poisson's ratio range (−0.95 < v_peak < 1.64) via facile and fast laser-engraving technique.