Chemists develop ultralight refractory material

A group of chemists from China and South Korea has developed a new refractory material that has extremely low density, but is capable of withstanding heavy loads and effectively stopping combustion.
 
According to hitech.newsru.ru, the material was created on the basis of a foamed polyimide polymer, which plays the role of a base, with the addition of a composite of graphene and red phosphorus.  
 
“Both polyimides and phosphorus are combustible materials, but in combination with graphene their properties change. The density of the material is about 16 mg per cubic centimeter, which is  16 times heavier than air. At the same time its mechanical properties allow a small polymer block to withstand the pressure of a six-cup glass with water. This puts the material in line with airgels based on silicon oxide or graphene.” 

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