Iran-Made Self-Healing Hydrogel Absorbs Harmful Electromagnetic Waves

“The hydrogel can be used in double-glazed windows,” said Reza Peymanfar, a photonics postdoctoral researcher at Shahid Beheshti University and the main author of an article on the new hydrogel.

"The self-healing hydrogel enjoys the capability to expend energy and absorb electromagnetic waves in the ultraviolet and microwave zones and is transparent in visible area,” he added.

Peymanfar referred to the global warming, abundant use of fossil fuels and the risks caused by electromagnetic waves, saying application of these absorbent structures is unavoidable in such conditions.

“Interestingly, this hydrogel is transparent in visible environment which makes it proper for application as a filler in windows and other devices that have a transparent structure with the ability to absorb waves, including double-glazed windows and laminate in airplanes and cars,” he said.

“Using two-dimensional nanostructures, including graphene oxide, carbon graphite-like nitride, and carbon microspheres, has reinforced the self-healing properties of the hydrogel, making it proper for biological and electronic applications,” Peymanfar said.

In a relevant development earlier this year, Iranian researchers at Amirkabir University of Technology had also succeeded in acquiring the technical know-how of making the world's lightest material called aerographene which is used in batteries and supercapacitors.

“Aerographene is the lightest material in the world and it can reduce the weight of equipment and create special properties in them. In batteries and supercapacitors, it increases their capacity and lifespan up to 5 times and reduces environmental risks and weight,” said Arash Qazitabar, a graduate of Amirkabir University of Technology and the manager of the project.

He added that aerographene can also increase the corrosion resistance in different parts, improve the absorption of electromagnetic waves, protect devices and equipment against these waves and reduce their weight, noting that it can also improve the absorption of organic and inorganic pollutants in the sewage.

Qazitabar underlined that the Iranian specialists have gained the necessary expertise in working with this material to such an extent that the engineering capability has been created for various applications, including electromagnetic wave protection, oil and petroleum pollutant absorbers, heavy metal absorbers, lithium-ion battery electrodes and car batteries.

Aerographene or graphene aerogel is the least dense solid known, at 160 g/m3 (0.0100 lb/cu ft; 0.16 mg/cm3; 4.3 oz/cu yd), less than helium. It is approximately 7.5 times less dense than air. Note that the cited density does not include the weight of the air incorporated in the structure.

Graphene aerogels are synthetic materials that exhibit high porosity and low density. Typical synthesis of graphene aerogels involve reducing a precursor graphene oxide solution to form graphene hydrogel.

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